AI Ascended
by Aethelgythe
Summary: Sequel to "AI Rising". Michael and Sarah's daughter has finally regained her memory...and KARR has returned in the hopes of claiming her as his driver. Yes, KITT and KARR are in this one too! KR 2008 :D PLEASE R & R!
1. I Hate Mondays

Author's Note: Sorry this is delayed! I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Knight Rider. I DO own the OC characters however, since they came from my own imagination! There will be more swearing in this story, now that she is older. Sorry about that.

**Chapter 1**

_No…it was happening again. _

_Just as it did every night_

_She ran…hoping and praying that she would get out alive as dark, shadowy figures chased her in the frightening blood red background._

"_N-no… STAY BACK!"_

_Hands reached out to grab her from the shadows--_

A strangled scream escaped her throat, as a thrashing Brittany Johnson, finally woke up. The 18 year old, sat up shivering and panting for air. This occurrence was nothing new. She always had nightmares…for as long as she could remember. For some reason, in her high school years, she was able to remember every single one of her dreams with crystal clarity. Every year, it seemed to get more and more intense. Of course she had gone to counseling and talked to some psychiatrist about it but they related her nightmares with the stress of her first year in college, living away from home. Some help _they _were_._

The shrill beeping brought her back to the present moment and she glared at the accursed alarm clock with a look that could melt steel.

It was another Monday…

"Why me…I hate my life…"

Of course she didn't _really_ hate her life. Just the fact that it was an early Monday morning, with a long day ahead of her…

College life sucked eggs… if you happened to be one of the A-B students that actually did their homework and went to class on time. Brittany avoided parties and social events like the plague, preferring solitude as opposed to mingling with all of the socialites on campus. She took her academics seriously and was often labeled a 'nerd' or 'geek' at times because of it. Then again, the morons who called her that happened to be the students with the D's, and F's. At least _she _was actually going somewhere in the next three years. Wherever that happened to be…Brittany was still unsure. The problem of the matter was choosing her major. Fortunately, she didn't have to declare a major for another year and a half.

She dragged herself out of bed and got dressed, glancing every now and then at her cell phone clock. She ran to the bathroom and combed her short brown hair and brushed her teeth before rushing back to her room to grab her backpack for her first class. On the way out, she grabbed her ID and an apple, closing the door behind her. After pulling her keys out, she made sure to lock it and then left to begin her fun-filled day with five boring lecturers and then enjoy suffocating on sawdust at her part-time job in the local wood-shop.

It paid well enough, at least enough for her to pay half of her term bill this semester. It was better than working at McDonalds on the far side of town. She shivered at the thought, having worked in a fast food restaurant once in high school…a most frightening experience that would forever scar her memory. She vowed never to eat Wendy's food ever again.

Brittany left the dorm building and headed towards the nearby four-way crosswalk that led to the college square, where one side was lined with the bookstore, coffee shop, hotel, and other tourist oriented souvenir shops.

She took a left, heading away from the tempting, allure of freshly brewed coffee and stood at the corner. After looking both ways and deeming it was safe, began to cross confidently. One of her friends, Mary Sanders, smiled and waved at her from the other side.

"Hey Brittany… we still gonna' watch season 1 of Knight Rider tonight?!"

"Yeah, definitely!"

"See you then!"

"Later!"

She watched her friend run off to catch the next crosswalk light. A shiny, black mustang sat parked on the side of the street across from the coffee shop, catching her admiring eye. Mustangs were her favorite car, for whatever reason she couldn't fathom. The fact that she was currently drooling at the sight of it, had to make some sort of statement to her taste in cars.

Just then an angry horn blasted the air a couple of feet from where she had been crossing as some young punk, in a sports car screeched around the corner, nearly hitting her. She turned in his direction and screamed profanities at the guy.

"You…_asshole-_- I had the right of way! If you want, you can actually reverse and _hit me_, so I can SUE your ass!!"

The punk driver slowed down enough so he could flip her off with an arrogant smile before racing off with squealing tires. She continued to rant and rave in his general direction, uncaring if she was making a scene in public. Some tourists who had been enjoying the beauty of the campus, blanched at her crude language and whispered amongst themselves before walking the other way.

"IF I HAD A ROCK I'D THROW IT AT YOUR PIECE OF CRAP YOU CALL A CAR…AND BREAK THE WINDSHIELD!! Rude-ass…"

She took another deep breath and vented skywards, announcing her grief to the whole world.

"_I HATE RUDE PEOPLE_!!!"

Her left eye was twitching in anger at this point and she growled as she panted for air after the last echoes of her tirade faded away.

She sighed and finished crossing the street, holding one hand to her forehead as if a headache was coming on. The black mustang rolled out of its parking spot and drove right past her.

"Miss…I need you to come with me."

She looked up and her eyes narrowed suspiciously at the campus safety officer. He had both hands casually resting on his utility belt that came equipped with a walkie-talkie, whistle, keys, and miniscule can of pepper spray. The golden badge with the college name engraved on it reflected some of the sunlight into her eyes.

"Why? I didn't do anything wrong."

He raised an eyebrow in question.

"Scaring tourists and nearly giving one elderly woman a heart attack, isn't wrong?"

Brittany rolled her eyes, not backing down.

"Listen here, _Sir,_ I apologize if I disturbed the peace…but this JERK tried to run me over in the middle of the crosswalk! And last time I checked, this is America…freedom of speech and all that."

He half smiled and shook his head and then had the audacity to address her like she was some misbehaving child.

"I saw everything. I reported his license number to the local police department for reckless driving. _You_ however, need to come with me."

This was most definitely…a **Monday** morning. No doubt about it. If this campus safety officer had tried to jump her from the bushes on, let's say…a _Friday_ morning, her weird-shit-o-meter would have gone off the charts. At this point, all Mondays SUCKED. It was typical. Especially for a small, Kentucky College like this one.

"What are the charges?"

"No charges_._ There was an incident in your dormitory that occurred early this morning and we would just like to ask you a few questions."

"So…where are your handcuffs? Or do you criminalize every student you pass on the street?"

She couldn't resist. It was a bad morning so far. Normally she would never disrespect a figure of authority, even one so small as this police-wannabe. All she wanted to do…was get to class and get through her day, so that Mishap Monday would be over.

"I don't have to tolerate your disrespect _girl…_ you are coming with me _right now._"

The officer roughly grabbed her arm and began to lead her down the sidewalk, biting back all of the snide retorts he had rearing to go on the tip of his tongue. He had to be professional…calling the young lady a 'girl' was probably as far as he could go unless he had a desire to lose his job.

Brittany snickered as a movie quote came to mind from Monty Python and the Black Knight and just as they were passing an odd assortment of students she screamed out to them, while animatedly pointing at the officer escorting her.

"_Help, HELP…I'm being repressed!! See the violence inherent in the system!!"_

A few of the students, familiar with the film chuckled and smiled in her direction, as the tight-lipped campus safety officer's grip on her arm tightened painfully.

The officer was not in the best of moods it would seem. The way he was glaring at her right now, Brittany was sure that if he did have one of the police issued night-sticks…he would be beating the crap out of her with one right now. She caught his dangerous expression and shrugged, looking innocently back at him.

"What? I like movie quotes…"

He grumbled something unintelligible, not that she cared anyway now that her entire day was thrown out of whack by this highly unforeseen event.

A few minutes later and they were sitting in the office of the head of campus security, the scowling officer that escorted her in, left to go on patrol.

_Good riddance, Officer Fun-Sucker._

Another long suffering sigh escaped her lips as the minutes ticked slowly away on the clock face hanging on the back wall.

Fifteen minutes later, another officer entered and took a seat behind the desk, Brittany's dormitory collegium taking a seat nearby.

The officer cleared her throat and folded her hands on top of the desk and looked seriously at her.

"This morning between the hours of 6-8 am, a theft was reported in your suite. We would like to ask you a few questions, if that's okay."

Brittany nodded her head dumbly, clearly taken by surprise by this rather stunning encounter.

"Where were you this morning?"

"Sleeping…in my room."

The officer had a notepad out and was scribbling things down as she answered questions, occasionally glancing up at her. The collegium, remained quiet, simply observing as a silent witness.

"Do you have a roommate?"

"She moved out last month…so I have the room to myself now."

"I need to hear in as much detail as possible, what exactly you did this morning up to the present moment. Can you do that for me?"

"Uh…sure. I have nothing to hide."

Brittany took a deep breath and then recounted everything she did, including leaving her room to go to the bathroom at 7:11 am to get ready for the day. At last she was finished and the officer finished scribbling the last few notes down. She glanced up at her with a critical eye, making Brittany shiver involuntarily. It was the kind of predatory look a hawk had when it spotted its prey.

"Do you keep to-do-lists?"

The question caught her off guard. What the hell did a to-do-list have to do with a theft? And for that matter…who _didn't_ keep a to-do-list?

"Of course, I mean…who doesn't keep a to-do-list? I write down lists for everything. Even lists for important events during a busy day so I don't forget anything. Why?"

"It's just a standard question we ask everyone involved with this case. Thank you for your time, you are free to go," the Officer woman forced a tight smile.

Brittany did her best to remain civil and smiled back before leaving.

Well…that was definitely weird. Not a normal Monday.

She glanced down at the watch on her wrist and swore, running for the crosswalk. She only had five minutes to get to her second class which was on the other side of campus.

The rest of the day passed quickly, without incident, although the weird event with campus safety pulling her in for questioning constantly plagued her mind. Something set off her internal warning buzzer whenever her thoughts looped back to the 'to-do-list'.

**Hours later…**

Brittany and Mary sat laughing in the suite lounge, watching episodes of Knight Rider 2008 from the first season. Her friend had been most sympathetic about the incident and told her to just forget about it since she was innocent.

"So…nothing else happened today?"

"As if getting dragged in to campus safety like some criminal wasn't enough?"

"I'm just asking…"

"No…not really…"

They ate some popcorn and sipped on cans of pepsi in companionable silence, while Brittany organized her frazzled thoughts.

"_I just hate Mondays_…"

TO BE CONTINUED!!

A/N: **Please review**! Actually, parts of this story really happened to me. I have had nightmares about bad guys chasing me since I was like three and a jerk in a sports car did try to run me over in the middle of a crosswalk on my way to class. It's like college students have invisible "HIT ME" signs flashing in bright neon colors above their heads!! I swear…it's like the community believes they will get 1,000 bonus points or something if they hit one.

Campus safety actually DID drag me in for questioning concerning a theft a couple months ago.

They treated me like a criminal and once the second theft happened, immediately pointed fingers at me even though I was innocent!! When that happened I felt like I was stuck in the twilight zone, since I've always been one of those 'good kids/teacher's pets' who has never made a trip to the principal's office, LOL.

As for Brittany/Mikah's feisty attitude…she is saying all the stuff I THOUGHT about saying…but never did. XD


	2. Memories

Author's Note: Sorry about the delay in updating. I usually try to get an update in once every week but now that I'm nearing the end of my college term, things have really picked up. Exam week is also in like 2 weeks give or take so I need to focus on school. Once I'm FREE for the summer, I'll be sure to update faithfully. Thanks SO much for reading and reviewing and I hope you enjoy!

**Chapter 2**

_She ran as she always did…as one of the same nightmares she had since childhood returned to haunt yet another night._

"_PLEASE! SOMEONE HELP ME!"_

_She could hear the pounding footsteps behind her and the shouting of the bad guys that were trying to hurt her. They would catch her eventually…she couldn't run forever. Her lungs burned, crying desperately for air. She tripped over some invisible foot, crashing down to the ground in a heap._

_A scary voice filled the silence, darkening the dream world that was devoid of all life. _

_**I will never stop hunting you. **_

_A wall loomed up in front of her and she realized that she hit a dead end. She turned around, trembling when a dark figure lumbered into view, bathed in shadows which hid all distinguishable features. It reached a massive, clawed hand out to grab her…a scream lodged in her throat. _

Brittany awoke with a start, breathing heavily. She half-sobbed with relief, and glanced at the neon blue alarm clock numbers on top of her mini fridge. It was only three in the morning. After a scary dream like that, she didn't want to go back to sleep, especially since most of the time the nightmares just resumed where they left off.

She slowly slid off of her bed and padded silently out to the lounge and flipped on the television, keeping the volume low enough so as not to disturb her sleeping suite mates.

As she was channel surfing, she stumbled upon a re-run of Knight Rider 2008. It was one of her favorites, the last episode of the season actually where Michael Knight gets captured at the club and they get him drunk. She relaxed a notch, snuggling into the couch with a soft, fuzzy blanket and giggled quietly. Before long, she felt her eyelids drooping as she fought to stay awake. KITT's voice…or rather the actor's voice…was so soothing to listen to. Half-way through the episode, she was fast asleep.

5 Hours Later…

She groaned when she felt someone shaking her shoulders. She looked up through bleary eyes to see one of her suite mates standing over her with concern.

"Hey, don't you have a class or something right now?"

Brittany turned her head and noticed the bright sunlight beaming through the windows of the lounge. She swore and shot up, throwing a hasty 'thank-you' over her shoulder as she made it back to her room. As she got ready, the fuzzy remnants returned to her.

She had another dream…but one that wasn't so terrifying.

In a way, it was rather pleasant.

In the dream, she was young, a little girl of about four years old or so. She was sitting inside of KITT watching a movie with him, Finding Nemo. Every now and then he would comment and she answered with a giggle. It was so real…like she was actually there.

After pulling on a pair of blue jeans and a T-shirt, she scrambled to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. She had never been a big make-up person…rarely if ever using the small glamour kit she kept stashed in her closet. For some reason, she had always been more of a tomboy. She loved video games, paintballing, air soft, and cars. Getting dirty at work, never bothered her and she could take the punishment dished out in a fist-fight…ironically, most of the fights she got involved with in school were all with boys her own age. Why they insisted on picking on her, she never could understand. To sum everything up, Brittany was far from being the 'girly-girl' that society expected her to be.

There were days when she hated being who she was. Hearing the whispers of the pretty girls behind her back stung sometimes even though she acted tough on the outside. She knew within her heart, that when danger lurked, she would not be the damsel in distress screaming and crying for help. The 'girly-girls' would be the first to go when danger reared its ugly head.

Maybe that's why she liked Sarah Graiman's character so much. She was similar to her in personality. Brittany laughed so hard she cried when she saw the episodes in which Sarah punched people (mainly mean, perverted men) in the face. The first time she watched the KARR episode when Sarah was at the bar and the one jerk was making too many bold moves on her, Brittany jumped up from the couch and screamed at the television "punch him in the face, Sarah! PUNCH HIM IN THE FACE!!" Brittany freaked out when as if on cue, Sarah punched the man in the face, as if she had heard her.

It was _awesome!_

Brittany flew down the stairs, two at a time, swearing beneath her breath as she ran out of the door. One of her classes was already half over but if she hurried, she could make it to her second class of the day on time. As she hurried to the crosswalk her backpack slammed annoyingly against her back with every bound. After looking all four ways, since some drivers were stupid enough not to put a turn signal on, she ran chanting her familiar mantra of "I hate this intersection…I hate this intersection…please don't hit me…please don't hit me!"

Once she got to the other side she heaved a sigh of relief.

The second class, a boring general studies course with a professor that had the same dry monotone as Ben Stein from the movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off". She could just imagine her professor saying "Bueller…Bueller…Bueller…" over and over again. Half of the class was in a coma, drooling all over the desks. It was sickening. Many a time, she found herself nodding off but managed to get through it. Then came, the two life reviving words…

"Class dismissed."

A stampede exploded for the door, every student eager to escape the torture chamber of doom. The moment she got to the door, one of her friends looked worriedly at her with a frown and whispered so as not to be overheard.

"There is a campus safety officer right outside, asking for you."

"What?"

Dread filled Brittany's stomach as she headed for the only available exit to the building where indeed, a uniformed campus safety official stood waiting for her. One of their black, campus safety trucks equipped with flashing yellow lights on the top of the cab, sat waiting a few yards away. The young man straightened up as she approached him cautiously.

"Someone said you wished to see me?"

"Yes, the chief would like to speak with you."

"About what"

"She wouldn't say."

She rolled her eyes and got in the truck, a little frustrated and filled with apprehension as they drove across campus to the Campus Safety office, complete with interrogation rooms.

"This way," he led her through a couple hallways and then opened a door leading into a nearly bare room, with only one table and four chairs. Bars covered the one window in the room, making her feel like she was already incarcerated.

"She will be with you in a moment."

She sat drumming her fingers on the table top while the other hand propped against her cheek, her eyes glassy from boredom. It was becoming a norm. They were always keeping her waiting. She had another class in one hour…actually it was currently her lunch break and she was missing it, which only added to her already mounting irritability.

At long last, the door creaked open and the director of campus safety, the same one that questioned her last time entered the room. The officer that had escorted her to this prison, followed by her collegiums, all filed into the room. The three sat across from her, almost like a mini jury.

"What's this about?"

"We are going to ask you some questions that may be uncomfortable and a little personal."

Confusion filled her eyes and she felt her head tilting to one side.

"What?"

"Do you recognize _this?"_

She held a paper up for her to see, just out of reach but close enough to be read.

"No, fucking way…what the hell is THIS?!"

"We were hoping you could tell us."

In the officer's hand was an old, crumpled up, slightly torn to-do-list that she had thrown away at the start of the semester.

"This is yours, is it not?"

"Yeah, that's an old to-do-list I threw away months ago! What the hell is all of this about? Is it a crime that I didn't RECYCLE it?? If so, then go ahead and write up the damn ticket so I can get on with my life…"

"We found this in a very peculiar place."

Brittany stared stupidly at her, not understanding what she was getting at.

"This was found in the purse of your neighbor. She had $300 stolen and the culprit placed one of her credit cards under her pillow, and then placed the to-do-list in her purse. Can you explain how it got there?"

"Are you insane?! WHY in the HELL would I put that there, in order to link myself to the crime?! I would have to be the DUMBEST criminal in HISTORY!!"

Brittany could hear the twilight zone theme music playing in the background. This couldn't be happening to her…it just couldn't. She leaned forward looking intently at them with anger, fear, and betrayal in her eyes.

"Listen…I don't know WHO put it there…but I'm telling you, someone has got to be framing me!"

"Do you know anyone who might hold a grudge against you?"

"No…not really… There are some suite mates that I'm not on speaking terms with since they are total bitches to me but that's it."

Some notes were being scribbled down on a yellow notepad, courtesy of officer stalker over there, who came to retrieve her after class.

"Now I need you to do something for me. Look me in the eye…and answer this question truthfully."

"Okay"

"Did you steal the money?"

"HELL NO!!"

She was furious now that her very honor had been slandered.

"Listen, I don't know WHO the hell did this but it sure as hell wasn't me! Unlike SOME people, I actually have morals and values. I have done **nothing** wrong."

"I understand that you are upset but circumstantial evidence stands…this does not look good for you right now. We are going to investigate the case further. If anything turns up, it may be taken up to the judicial board and suspension may be passed."

She sat there, numb and in shock.

"You are free to go."

Brittany couldn't believe this was happening to her. After the day was finished, she sat down in front of the TV with her friend Mary and the two drowned out their troubles and sorrows in Knight Rider episodes and a bowl of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.

She sighed heavily and shook her head.

"Who would frame me like this?"

"A really, mean person."

"This is so stupid."

"Tell me about it."

On the screen, KITT was turbo boosting onto a bridge with a shrill scream. Michael Knight chuckled and replied "KITT, you scream like a girl."

The girls sat in silence, spirits down.

"How can I clear my name and repair my damaged reputation?"

"Get a lawyer…the campus safety has been bullying you. Plain and simple," Mary suggested helpfully, around a mouthful of ice cream.

"That's a good idea, actually. I'll call my dad tonight."

Sure enough, later that evening, she called her father. He told her he would look into getting a lawyer in the event that campus safety tried to do anything else…like throw her in prison.

As she lay in bed that night, thoughts churned wildly in her head like an out of control tornado, keeping her wide awake. She sighed heavily and got up and sat in front of her laptop, staring at a blank word document. After beginning a Knight Rider fan-fiction she was stuck on writing the next chapter. Some of these chapters contained actual memories she had while growing up, half of which made no sense…memories she thought that her active imagination had devised until it helped her spin such a fascinatingly fictional story that her readers just ate it up. The last review was actually rather odd. It was an anonymous reviewer by the name of Guardian. He had been asking her questions about the parts detailing the memories. She of course replied to the best of her abilities but now that she actually thought about it, it was a little suspicious. Why would anyone be THAT interested in the bullshit she called memories??

Then a delicious idea popped into her head—for the fan-fiction story.

"Hmm…let's see. Michael and Sarah's daughter grows up and becomes KITT's new driver. Short, sweet, and to the point."

Brittany entertained the thought and as she sat puzzling out the plot line, something strange happened. A sudden bout of vertigo assaulted her every sense and before she knew it, she had fallen off of her chair and was looking at a blurry image of her backpack, lying six inches away from her face.

Sharp pain assaulted her head and tears pricked the corners of her eyes as strange flashbacks ripped through her brain at lightning speed, confusing and disorienting her. Soon, her eyelids fluttered shut and she knew no more.

KRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKR

_Voices…she could hear familiar voices…some were jumbled up and overlapping each other, making it difficult to distinguish what they were saying. A few she understood with crystal clarity._

_Mikah I promise that you will be safe with me._

_Dr. Clarke will make you all better._

_Tell him, that daddy is still alive!_

_Cease your insubordinate behavior at once!_

_No, it is too dangerous._

_Please, try to understand…_

_I will always love you_

_Good-byes are never forever_

_Wake up…wake up…_

"Wake up!"

Brittany struggled back to the world of the living and cracked her eyelids open. The voices faded away and they slipped out of reach. Her room door was open and Mary was looking at her with concern.

"You never showed up to breakfast or to work, so I got a little worried."

"What time is it?"

The college student dragged herself up, wincing when joints popped and stiff muscles ached in protest. How long had she been lying on the floor?

"It's 10:00 am."

"Crap…gonna be late."

She shot up and dove for the closet, pulling some clothes off of the hangers.

"It's reading period, silly. We don't have classes today!"

"Oh…yeah…I guess I forgot," Brittany scratched her head sheepishly and woke her computer up out of sleep mode.

The blank word document she had been staring mindlessly at last night…was no longer blank. It was filled with 12 pages of double spaced sentences.

Mary didn't appear to be interested since she figured it was some dull homework assignment of some sort and began to walk towards the door.

"I'll catch you later, Brittany…as long as you promise that you're okay."

"Yeah, just fine…you know how my nights usually go."

"Yeah, I do…just take it easy on your day off, gal!"

"I'll do my best, thanks," Brittany smiled back at her.

The second the door shut, she read the document with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. They were memories…her memories. But they were the strange memories that over the years, she tried to forget since at the time they didn't make any sense and conflicted with the present moment.

Her eyes scanned every word hungrily, her lips silently moving as she did so.

_I used to think I was adopted. I had such different personalities from mom and dad that I felt alienated. We had our similarities, perhaps because I grew up in the same house as them but they have assured me time and time again, that I am truly theirs. I don't know why I always get this strange vibe when I'm around them, like there is something they aren't telling me._

So…had she written all of this when she was in a mini-coma last night? She had no memory of recording any of this on her laptop. It was unnerving. Brittany focused her attention back on the computer screen.

_Years ago, my parents took me to a fair but before they could get into the entrance my father told us to stay put while he checked something out up ahead. I was young at the time so paid little attention to his absence, instead excitedly pointing out to my mother, Mrs. Johnson, at all of the fascinating rides up ahead. Suddenly, I felt mother stiffen and I looked up to see that her face had paled considerably, eyes wide with fear. Father shouted something as he ran for us. My mother pulled me along as we broke into a short jog to cross the street and get back in the car. _

"_Why are we leaving, mommy?"_

"_Because, it's not safe, honey." _

"_What's not safe?"_

"_Just stay quiet!!"_

_I shrank back at the harsh words, not understanding why they were so afraid. _

_The screeching of tires erupted behind us as we drove off, both of my parents shaking and looking afraid…like they had seen a ghost. It puzzled me greatly but over the course of time, the memory was forgotten. Now I have to ask, why did they leave in such a hurry…and what could have possibly frightened them so badly?_

That was one memory. She scrolled, further down the page and read another that she often displaced as paranoia.

_There was a time when I was walking to school and a black car was following me. I was afraid and ran, since mother told me to never talk to strangers. The windows were dark so I couldn't see who the driver was…but I had a bad feeling. Something about the car was scary and menacing. I don't know how I knew, but I just did. It was intuition of some kind. A few minutes later, it drove off when another car, quite similar in appearance came roaring through the intersection and chased the stalker off. Only that time…I wasn't afraid. Something about the second car seemed almost, benevolent. _

It was a little unnerving, like reading someone else's diary…only the memories were coming back to her the more she read it.

_Most of my life, I have always had the creepy feeling that I was being watched. Somehow, that feeling has always emanated from parking lots. Whenever I was outside at school near a parking lot, out by a playground or even outside of a restaurant…for years, that feeling has always persisted. This might sound crazy, but I know for a fact that it isn't just paranoia…someone is watching me. Believe me when I say, that the thought frightens me, but most of the time when I felt like I was being watched, it was a good feeling. Like an old friend of mine was hiding somewhere nearby, just out of sight._

_Another memory I can vaguely recall is a sweet, kind woman whose face I no longer remember. There were bad people coming to get me and she shoved me into the front seat of a car._

"_No matter what happens, stay in the car! The bad people are coming and KITT is going to take you to safety."_

"_I don't want to leave you mommy!"_

"_You have to, baby. I love you so much, stay safe."_

Okay, that one was definitely weird. Perhaps the woman was her mother when she was much younger and she was also a Knight Rider fan? Why else would she call the car KITT? It was CRAZY!

As the last page scrolled into view she gasped.

"No way…"

Her eyes remained glued to the screen and she leaned closer, not that she needed to with 20/20 vision. It was something that she knew she had thought about before but never really paid much attention to. Brittany had good attention to detail and couldn't believe that she had shoved this into her subconscious memory.

_I have noticed that ever since I first arrived to this school…a black, GT-500 Mustang resembling KITT from Knight Rider 2008 has been sighted on campus. When inquiring about the whereabouts of the owner, I have reached dead-ends every time. No one seems to know who this car belongs to. Of course since I'm a huge fan of the show, I have often fantasized that this is really KITT and of course I know that it isn't but a fan-girl can dream. _

_It seems to me that whenever I am feeling extremely stressed or upset about something, the car is parked right across the street, no matter where I go. Over the course of time, it has made fewer appearances. But I DO remember seeing this car years ago…I just can't remember specifics. _

_Also, whenever the campus safety officers have 'arrested' me…the car has been in the near vicinity of the building. I suppose I don't give it much thought because I just figured that it belongs to an employee of the college, someone who has enough money to afford it. _

_There are more memories that are locked away that I know I _must_ remember. For years, I have always had the feeling that I'm missing something…that a piece of me is gone. At the same time, I feel that the missing link is buried deep within me. All I have to do is find it. _

Brittany heaved a sigh as she finally finished reading the last of the logs and saved the document in a special file. Her stomach rumbled and she smiled. Perhaps a trip down to the Coffee Grounds café down the street would do her some good. It would give her more time to think while she ate good food.

The teen grabbed some money and her backpack and headed for her desired destination. The second she got to the corner, the mystery car otherwise known as the KITT wanna-be, sat parked across from the café.

Her paranoia doubled.

She broke into a swift jog and ran into the coffee shop and ordered her favorite beverage, a Mocha-Jo, complete with cinnamon and whip cream on top. As she sat sipping the hot drink, she used her peripherals to keep an eye on the car. Once she finished about an hour later she paid and left, turning and running down a small alley close to the building. She stopped around the corner and listened intently with baited breath. It wasn't following her, good. That's when she cracked a small smile and shook her head. She really was paranoid...what had she been thinking? Of course the car wasn't alive so it **wasn't** going to--

The rev of a powerful engine made her hair stand on end and she turned her head to see the mustang sitting at the mouth of the alley, watching her. A red scanner swooshed back and forth on the front of the grill and her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.

"SHIT!"

She fled, the car not far behind her. About ten minutes later after a terrifying game of cat and mouse, she was leaning against the back of a building under rennovation. Her dormitory wasn't far off. She scowled at the car angrily.

"Listen here buddy, I don't need some psychotic Knight Rider fan with an **amazing** KITT replica stalking me!! So just…turn around and give me some space! PLEASE."

She gave it a shooing motion, is if trying to get rid of a pesky dog or a cat that had wandered too close.

It just sat there regarding her, the windshield tinted so that the driver was completely concealed. The engine revved again.

Then she got an idea...she diverted her eyes to a spot behind the mustang down the street and put on her best acting skills. Her face paled and her breathing hitched and with wide, frightened eyes she pointed and screamed at the top of her lungs, "IT'S KARR!!!!"

She couldn't believe the driver fell for it...he must have been a very dedicated fan. The mustang flew into reverse and with the screeching of tires performed a flawless 180 degree turn so that the car was now facing in the opposite direction.

She took that opportunity to sprint away, weaving between buildings and corners until she shook it off her trail. The second she made it back to her dorm room, she slumped against the locked door, breathing heavily.

"That did NOT just happen. This has all got to be some whacked up dream. First campus safety labels me a criminal…and then a KITT replica starts stalking me. Fantastic."

Brittany felt a little fatigued so went to lie down on her bed. She thought she heard some weird noises coming from the vents in the wall and the ceiling but paid it no mind. It was an old building and it was probably just 'settling'.

The teenager drifted off to sleep unaware of the danger she was truly in.

TO BE CONTINUED!!

A/N: PLEASE REVIEW!

I think it's kind of ironic that I wrote a fan-fiction of my character writing nearly the same-fan-fiction. This scenario almost reminds of the movie "Stranger than Fiction", LOL.


	3. Silent Guardian

Author's Note: Hopefully I can slow the pace down just a little bit. I'm not sure when I can update again since school is picking up and I have like 2 essays I have to write this week.

Here's another chapter! Sorry that its shorter...but thats because I posted earlier, lol. Enjoy!

_Thanks to: 007 Chuck, Ayame1313, BuckleWinner, Kitarensen, and My-Friend-KITT for reviewing!! You make this story possible. :) _

**Chapter 3**

The AI was proud of her accomplishments. She was diligent and hard-working, earning A-B honor rolls throughout her school years. In many ways, she was like her mother…intelligent and a fast learner. Then in other ways, she was much like her father. KITT felt his processor twinge in near pain after watching Mikah cry after a failed attempt at locating a foreign city on a world globe model during a geography 'race', in front of her entire class. One subject that Michael Knight struggled with while growing up.

He watched, fuming in silent anger, when her second grade math teacher completely ignored her, leaving Mikah far behind the rest of her peers as they eagerly advanced on the multiplication charts. She was the only one still behind in the 3 times tables, everyone else now up to 9's in one week's time.

KITT had nothing to worry about…she gradually caught up once her 'parents' helped to teach her at home, also encouraging her to attend after school help sessions for reading and writing.

At her high school graduation, she graduated at the top five percent of her class, with high honors.

KITT internally sighed.

For 14 years he remained silent and ever vigilant, protectively watching Mikah Knight grow up with a new identity. It had always been hard for him, not to initiate contact in some way, especially when a threat (even one as small as a school bully), threatened her well-being.

She could handle herself he first learned when he watched her punch a male antagonist in the stomach on the playground after he had hit her. Mikah's fiery spirit, painfully reminded him of his driver, Michael Knight. It had been five years now, to the day that he had last spoken with him…

_-Flashback-_

_The cryo-containment pod opened with a slow hiss, revealing a newly unthawed Michael Knight. The team of scientists Sarah had hired on temporarily, after years of research and development, believed that they finally had the answer to reverse the damaging biological degeneration the man suffered due to prolonged exposure to KARR's integration process._

_They had been wrong._

"_His vitals are spiking!"_

"_Abort, ABORT!!"_

"_Sarah…SARAH!" Mike's weak voice called desperately for his wife. _

_She ran to his side, her light blue eyes filled with worry._

"_Mike…it didn't work. They thought they could reverse it! We're going to put you back in cryo-stasis."_

_Mike shook his head, his brown eyes dull and brimming with tears. _

"_Dr. Graiman said this would happen…impossible to fix."_

"_We __will__ find a way to fix this Mike! I'm not losing you again!"_

_He wheezed for air, a strange rattling sound filling his lungs._

"_No. Can't live like this…won't let KARR…take me again…"_

_Tears began to fall from Sarah's eyes when she began to understand what he was requesting of her. _

"_Please…don't do this to me! What about Mikah and KITT?!"_

_He started to tremble and his hands shook as if he suffered from hypothermia-- his pale skin was glistening with sweat as he suffered withdrawal-like symptoms._

"_Tell Mikah…I love her…" he coughed hoarsely in his hospital bed and struggled to get up. _

"_What are you doing?!"_

"_Need to say good-bye…to KITT."_

_With her help, he collapsed in a wheelchair. A few minutes later and he was crawling shakily into KITT's driver's seat, one last time._

"_Well buddy…it's been a good run."_

_/Michael, please listen to Sarah. We can find a way to help you/_

_The ex-military man weakly shook his head with a frown._

"_KARR was going to use me…to kill you…will __**never**__ let that happen."_

_/So you are giving up/_

_Mike laughed coarsely and ran one shaking hand affectionately over the dashboard._

"_I never…give up."_

_END FLASHBACK_

After that, Mike's vitals dropped dangerously low and Sarah's team placed him back into hibernation until they could solve the problem. Besides trying to figure out how to reverse Michael's condition, they also needed to figure out whether or not the cryo-stasis would negatively affect him.

To make matters worse, KARR dropped clear off the map only one week ago.

KITT hurried back to his post, keeping as close to her as possible with a now invisible enemy lurking around.

The only reason he had confronted his charge in the alleyway, was because his sensors had detected erratic bio functions, indicating she was under a great deal of stress. Not to mention the increased brain activity that suggested possible memory recovery…the very readings he had been scanning for all of these long years. KITT supposed that in hindsight, he shouldn't have 'jumped the gun' so to speak…but he really thought that something was seriously wrong. Or perhaps the AI had simply been looking for a good excuse to reveal him-self to her…secretly hoping that she would recognize him or trigger her memory in the very least.

Unfortunately, she believed that he was an accursed _replica_. It was actually rather…intriguing, for lack of a better term…how the Knight Rider series came into existence. Some double-crossing scientist that had been sworn into secrecy three years ago broke the contract by trying to reveal their entire operation to the public. The traitor's evil intent actually helped them in the long run, once Sarah and the team came up with the genius idea of making it a TV series. Put the truth out there in plain sight…everyone believed it for science fiction instead of truth.

Billy was ecstatic.

KITT was gracious enough to donate some of his memory files to help compose Knight Rider 2008, season 1. Billy and Zoe pulled up old security footage and video logs. The team then decided to add 'bonus features' by posting a website (Billy blogged on it occasionally) and by adding bonus content on the DVD's for the season. They all played their parts well, fooling everyone into believing that they were 'actors' instead of the real people. They had KITT help them in creating false aliases for their 'characters'. Billy thought his 'actor's' name was ridiculous. How could Paul Campbell beat a name like Billy Morgan? The others were less enthused as well…all blaming it on KITT since he was the only one who could help them create these 'real-life' aliases without accidentally stealing someone's real identity.

It was a complete success.

Ever since the TV show came out, the AI confirmed that it was in fact, helping to restore Mikah's lost memory…the one and only reason why he had agreed to give up something as personal and private as his memory files in the first place. They killed 2 birds with one stone. They managed to keep their operation secret **and** help Mikah Knight regain her lost identity in the process.

KITT thought back on the events of the day and he still felt a little embarrassed that he had fallen for her clever trick. It was only after he had spun around to face the non-existent threat that he realized her little ploy. He had internally sighed, berating himself for not scanning the area first. She was a very good actor, her horrified expression coupled with a rise in heart and respiration rates fooled even him.

No matter, it would not happen again. KITT never fell for the same trick twice.

There was no need for him to follow her since he knew where she lived. Thanks to advanced computer hacking skills, KITT knew nearly everything about her. Her class schedule, which buildings she frequented, her academic records, her part time job, past residences, her medical and dental records, facebook account, bank accounts, and even her fanfiction account. It was only when he read the Knight Rider fanfiction that he knew for sure, that her memory was returning even if it was only on a subconscious level right now. He even did the honors and deleted a rude review that insulted not only her story but her personality as an author as well. She never saw it…or even knew about it, since he deleted the record of it from both her email and fanfiction account.

The AI had been sorely tempted to hack into the flamer's computer and plant a nasty virus…or to even send his own offensive response. It took a lot of restraint on his part…

He solved the problem in a less destructive and a less offensive way.

He only deleted the user's fan-fiction account and all of their stories with it. To say that KITT was proud of himself for accomplishing the revengeful deed, was an understatement. He couldn't help but feel, a strong sense of satisfaction after that.

KITT was quite sure that the idiot would think twice before insulting her again, or risk even worse consequences the next time.

As for the campus security's corrupt methods of administering justice, he would be sure to take care of that too...

He was currently in the back parking lot of her dormitory, one that was rarely ever used, keeping his scanners on her while she slept. That was something else he knew, that not many others did…he knew about the nightmares.

Speaking of which…

Brittany was tossing and turning in her sleep, heart rate increasing as some invisible terror chased her.

There were a few times when the AI had to take drastic measures and find some way to awaken her before it got too bad. There was one night where she had stopped breathing. He managed to wake her that night by hacking into the fire alarm system and set it off. The campus officials blamed it on a technical glitch, no one was the wiser.

It looked like this night was going to be just as bad. He blared his horn loudly and stopped when his scanners detected REM cycle shift, into one of wakefulness. She sat up blearily in bed a little grouchy at the fact that some rude person honked at…

She looked over at the clock and growled.

…at 2:00 am.

Brittany hopped out of bed, recalling the nightmare and curiously peeked out through the blinds hanging against the closed window. She looked down into the parking lot but couldn't detect any vehicle. It must have been a passing car down near the busy road that ran parallel to her dormitory.

Thanks to KITT's black paint job, he was virtually undetectable at night...blending in with the darkness. The parking lot lights had been dismantled due to budgetary cutbacks, giving him an invisible cloak.

She shrugged and hopped back into bed, struggling to go back to sleep. A few minutes ticked by and her breathing evened out. Something else woke her up at least twenty minutes later. Brittany was startled when a loud clang echoed through the ventilation shaft on the wall next to her bed. She jumped out of bed as if it was on fire and switched the light on. After listening intently for another minute or two, another weird scratching sound echoed out.

With wide eyes, the 5'8'' brunette ran from the room in a panic and dragged her RA in. She pointed to the vent.

"I'm telling you…something's ALIVE in there!!"

"It's probably nothing…these vents are old and make weird sounds sometimes," the other girl yawned widely.

The RA struggled up to look into the vent, shining a flashlight into it. About five seconds passed before she screamed shrilly, jumping away from it and collided into Brittany. They tumbled to the floor in a heap of tangled arms and legs, Brittany wasted no time and shot back to her feet, nearly spazzing out.

"WHAT WAS IT?!"

The RA groaned as she crawled back up and looked at her with a disgusted look.

"A rat"

Brittany's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and her face mirrored the disgusted one of her residential assistant.

"That is SO gross. Can't you do something about it?"

"We can call it in tomorrow morning. Facilities management isn't open until eight-o'clock."

"You mean…I have to sleep with THAT in there?!"

The shorter girl scratched the back of her head tiredly and blinked a few times as she regarded the freaked out resident.

"Yeah…I guess so. Unless you'd rather sleep in the lounge"

"It can't get out of there, right?"

Brittany shuddered at the prospect of a rat scurrying around her room, over her belongings and infecting them with only God knew what disease...

The RA glanced back at the air vent and shook her head.

"Not at all…what has me confused, is how it got in there to begin with. The only way it could have gotten in there, is if your neighbor was mean enough to unscrew the vents OR it fell down the roof shaft."

"Okay…" Brittany looked at her uncertainly.

"We will investigate this matter tomorrow, I assure you," the girl yawned again before exiting out of the room.

Brittany watched her go and grumbled as she went to gather her pillow and blankets. She trudged dejectedly out to the uncomfortable lounge couch and struggled to go back to sleep. After two hours of tossing and turning, she gave up and turned the TV on. At least she had this week's weather forecast and the news. Still, she could not sleep. She ran back to her room and brought out her cell phone and laptop…not that anyone would try to call her at 4:00 am.

There was no sleeping tonight…it was official.

She logged onto the internet and checked her email before starting to write a new chapter for her story.

"Dammit…writer's block again…"

That was okay, she knew where to find her inspiration. She found the website she was looking for and began to watch episodes of season 1 on her laptop, ear-buds stuck in both ears. Brittany giggled quietly, thoroughly enjoying the episode titled "Fly By Knight".

KITT stealthily hacked into her laptops built in camera and kept tabs on her internet activity. If he could smile, he would be at this moment. He watched her expressions as she watched one of his and Michael's old missions. Soon, Brittany's eyelids began to droop and her head rolled back to rest on the pillow positioned just behind her.

The episode kept playing.

KITT softly sighed as he watched her sleep.

_Good-night Mikah…and sweet dreams_

TO BE CONTINUED!

A/N: Actually....the part about hearing noises in the vents is true for me. But fortunately...not the rat. I've often wondered what it was though. O_O

So what do you guys think of KITT's "less destructive...and less offensive way" of revenge? XD LMAO (Of course for all of us with a fan-fiction account, that would be a nightmare)

PLEASE REVIEW!! ^_^


	4. KARR Returns

Author's Note: Sorry once again, for the delay in the update. Exam week is next week and my life has been crazy. Thanks so much for being patient with me!

_Thanks to: Potterfan2006, My-Friend-KITT, Ayame1313, tropicangell, BuckleWinner, and Rainack for the wonderful reviews! Your reviews keep this story alive!!_

**Chapter 4**

_Not again…_

_The dark, shadowy figures were swarming behind her, ruining the pleasant dream she had been in the middle of. In the nice dream, she had been sitting outside of a café, sipping a mocha, while chatting with Mary about Knight Rider episodes when suddenly the sky darkened and her friend vanished along with the calming, familiar scenery._

_Menacing, voices rose, jumbled and distorted, rising above one another in a hellish clamor. _

_She ran as she always did, screaming at the nameless, shapeless forms chasing her._

"_Go away! Leave me alone!"_

_She then prayed, nearly above a whisper as she fled for her life._

"_God save me."_

_A building loomed into view and she flew through the door, racing down empty aisles searching for something…anything in which to defend herself with. A pile of neatly stacked fire-wood logs were sitting innocently on a shelf. A small axe was next to it._

_She stood there staring at the wood and axe in mild confusion. What a pile of firewood was doing on a store shelf, she didn't know—nor did she care. All that was of any real importance…was the sharp object sitting innocently next to the lumber. _

_Brittany grabbed the axe and turned with a battle cry to defend her-self as the nightmare continued, meeting a horde of shadow-people head on. They stopped in their tracks when they saw her wielding a weapon. She grinned triumphantly and waved it threateningly in their direction. _

"_Which of you biznitches wants to say hello to my little friend first?"_

_Then the creepiest thing happened. The shadows changed…melting slowly away to reveal people. Mean scary people that looked vaguely familiar. The antagonists of her past…_

_Now standing before her with twisted grins and a sick, psychotic light shining in their eyes, was Shannon Bolivia, Rodriguez Sanchez, Ryan Tyrone, and various mafia members. They took a menacing step forward. _

"_Stay back!"_

_She raised her axe threateningly. They all began to laugh wickedly, as if it was a joke. One of them lunged at her and she hit the man over the head with the sharp side of her weapon, only to see that the axe was now a plastic, neon colored child's toy which inflicted no damage. Her eyes widened in shocked terror and she threw it towards one of her pursuers and fled as the chase resumed. _

_Would this nightmare never end?_

_She turned a corner only to run into more shadowy figures. Back-pedaling, the frightened teen bumped into someone behind her and she whirled around to come face to face with her past tormentors that she recognized, still only vaguely. She noticed with growing panic, that she was completely surrounded… the nightmarish people tightened the circle with slow, predatory steps. They pressed her in to the center as they continued their relentless advance, now only one yard away from her. Her vocal cords tightened from mind-numbing fear. She struggled to release a scream but it was as if she had lost her voice entirely._

_They were closer now, only a few feet away. One hand reached out to touch her and she released a shriek._

"_SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!!"_

_The furious roar of a powerful engine broke through the evil laughter of the crowd, silencing them briefly. Then she heard a familiar voice, faint, but still audible._

_**Wake up Mikah…**_

_She didn't seem to notice that she was referred to by an unfamiliar name. Tears filled her eyes as she frantically searched for the owner of the kind voice._

"_Where are you?"_

_**You are merely experiencing a nightmare**_

_The comforting voice, distinctly male, was a little louder this time, almost as if he were standing right next to her._

_The scary people growled angrily and shuffled closer, another scream forced its way out of her throat. She began to sob, whimpering pathetically in her helpless state._

"_PLEASE HELP ME!" Raw desperation bled through her words._

_**It is only a bad dream…no one can hurt you**_

_Her eyes shifted over to where the mean, bad people were still standing, to see that they no longer encircled her. They snarled as the voice began to guide her subconscious mind into the conscious. She took a few steps backwards, doubt still gnawing at her. _

"_This seems so real…"_

_The voice seemed to be contemplating her words, for silence lasted a few long seconds before it responded again._

_**I have an idea**_

"_Where are you going?" fear at the prospect of being abandoned flooded her every sense._

_**I am coming to you. Do you see me yet?**_

_The angry roar of an engine reverberated nearby followed by the squealing of tires as a vehicle screeched to a sudden stop._

_There sitting a couple of yards away from her was a black Shelby GT500 mustang. Then as if someone had pushed the play button on her laptop, she heard the gentle swooshing of his red scanner and heard as well as saw, the driver's side door open. She took the invitation gratefully and ran for him._

"_NO!"_

_She growled in frustration when she realized she wasn't moving forward but running in place…_

_This was about as screwed up as running away in slow motion. _

"_I can't reach you!"_

_**Concentrate…you must realize that it is only a dream**_

_She stopped and inhaled deeply, finally taking his advice at heart as her mind struggled to distinguish dream from reality. Brittany took one step forward…and then another, actually moving closer. At long last, she was able to rest one hand on the ridge of the open door. Glancing back over her shoulder she sighed with relief to see that all of the nightmarish people had vanished from sight, leaving a black, empty void behind._

_It was kind of funny, she mused, that it was pitch black around her and yet she was still able to see the black car in front of her. The glowing blue dashboard beckoned to her and she got in, the door closing of its own accord._

_She finally recognized both the car and the owner of the voice._

_Surprise was evident in her tone when she addressed her rescuer. _

"_KITT?"_

The next thing she knew, she was groggily opening her eyes. The teen grimaced with disgust to feel sweat slickening her skin and dampening her clothes. That was some nightmare. It was a miracle that the laptop didn't crash to the merciless floor in the midst of her troubled sleep. She noticed that the ear-buds were still in her ears and one of the Knight Rider episodes was still playing on her laptop.

Maybe that's how she heard KITT's voice. After glancing at the clock on her computer, she saw that her first class began in two hours. She was still very tired and considered going back to sleep, until her cramped neck muscles protested, sending small shocks of pain running through her shoulder and back muscles. The lounge couch was not the best place to sleep…which attested that her exile was an act of desperation.

Two hours later and she was sitting in her general studies science course, nodding off drowsily every few minutes. Brittany hoped that campus security left her alone today. She also hoped that facilities management took care of the rat problem in the air vents.

It was on her way to lunch that she saw the black mustang KITT replica, parked innocently in the lot across from the cafeteria and campus safety office. In order to get through the front door, she had to pass directly in front of the mustang's front grill.

Brittany eyed it suspiciously as she walked by but stopped when a thought occurred to her. She glanced around to make sure no one was watching and then growled at the car while pointing an accusatory finger at it.

"If I catch you stalking me again…I'm calling the cops."

She scowled at the black mustang, awaiting a response. After standing there staring at it for five minutes straight, felt entirely stupid.

What was she thinking? Of course the car wasn't alive…this mustang wasn't the real KITT. As far as she knew, Knight Rider was science fiction.

She had her own secret theories about the show. One theory was that they created the show in order to hide the truth…it was not impossible for technology of this magnitude to already exist, especially if they came up with the very idea of a smart AI car back in the 1970's. It could also be her very vivid, fan-girl imagination but it could happen…

Her eyes narrowed again in suspicion as she regarded the vehicle.

Then again, the car wasn't responding.

"What am I even doing out here?"

Brittany felt her cheeks redden and start to burn from embarrassment as she became self-conscious as others passed her on the sidewalk.

She was trying to communicate with an inanimate object.

"I… have… lost it."

She shook her head in disgust and walked away, completely missing the brief swoosh of a red scanner across the grill the second her back was turned towards it.

KRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKR

KITT watched with mild amusement as Brittany walked off, shaking her head in disgust. He had so desperately wanted to respond but knew that he currently had to remain under the radar. He was only supposed to reveal himself if her life was threatened or if she regained her memory entirely.

The AI had a hunch that KARR was about to make his move after disappearing these past two weeks. He was like a virtual ghost, making him even more dangerous than he already was. At this point, KITT wasn't sure if KARR knew about Mikah's change of identity or residence.

KARR had all of these long years to try to track her down, despite the fact her military family moved once every 2-3 years.

If he did, then it would not be long until the evil AI did something rash…like try to kidnap her…or worse.

This possibility weighed heavily on his processor.

KITT internally sighed.

At least he had been able to help Mikah last night, in the midst of her nightmare. It had been a sheer stroke of genius, if he did say so himself. Once his scanners had detected the irregular and highly erratic bio-signs, knew that she was once again experiencing a bad dream. Of course, he had been able to hack into her computer quite easily and amplified the sound and microphone outputs in an attempt to wake her. When turning up the volume wasn't enough, (she was a deep sleeper like Michael) he thought of his marvelously brilliant plan. He used sound clips from some of his past missions, so that she would hear the sound effects of his own car design and was able to communicate through the speakers in her laptop. Since she had her ear-buds in at the time, he was in no danger of being overheard by anyone else in the room. Only she could hear him.

The plan worked flawlessly.

Thanks to the fact that she was a sleep talker…he was able to hear her and on some occasions when she was barely discernible, read her lips to piece together what she was saying. When she begged him for help, it nearly tore his processor apart. He was more determined than ever, to help her escape whatever terrors her subconscious mind subjected her to.

Fortunately, it did not take long. Approximately two minutes and fifty three seconds for her to awaken.

After doing some research, KITT concluded that the recurrence of nightmares was a side effect of memory recovery. She must be remembering the villains of her past.

It was only a matter of time until she remembered KARR.

The AI returned to his monitoring duty. KARR would not come within a foot of her…not while he was still online and functioning.

If the evil AI wanted her...KARR would have to claim her, over his cold, off-lined body.

KRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRK

Brittany sighed tiredly as she crawled back into her bed that night. She found the note posted on her door that said the facilities people came by to take care of the rat. That was a relief.

After spending a few hours doing countless homework assignments and research papers and essays, she was about ready to pass out into a mini coma for a week. At least the weekend was finally here, now she could rest and catch up on lost sleep. As she lay in bed thinking, she couldn't get the image of the black mustang out of her head. Something felt distinctly familiar about it…

"Wait a minute…felt?"

That was odd. Maybe she was going crazy. If there was one thing she had learned so far, it was that college definitely fried people's brains…including her own. Sleep deprivation did weird things to a person.

"Must have imagined it…"

She turned over onto her side, trying to calm her tumultuous thoughts. She felt slightly nauseous, achy, and had a bad headache. Brittany sincerely hoped she wasn't catching something.

After a few minutes, she realized that she smelled something odd. She groaned and sat up.

"Please don't be coming from the vents…"

She grabbed a flashlight from her sock drawer and flashed the light into the opening, peering intently into the slits of the vent cover. Nothing…there was nothing there. Then where was that strange smell coming from?

As if in answer to her silent question, she heard a distinct clatter above her. That wouldn't have been a problem had there actually been another residence directly above her own, but as it was she was on the top level of the dormitory.

"What the hell?" she murmured softly.

All sorts of scary, worst case scenarios flashed through her brain with lighting speeds. The first thing that came to mind was the fact that there could be a burglar or something on the roof. But who in their right mind would want to break in to a low income, college dormitory? There was nothing of great value here…

The smell lessened. Perhaps she was just getting used to it.

Brittany sighed and shook her head. It was probably nothing.

The teen crawled back beneath the warmth of her blankets and closed her eyes, sighing tiredly with a small shiver. Surprisingly, it did not take long for her to fall asleep this time.

Her peace was interrupted an hour later when a loud clanging sound echoed through the ventilation shafts, originating from the roof. Brittany woke up with a start, trying to figure out where the sound had come from.

That's when all hell broke loose…

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As the hours passed slowly by, a subtle change in her bio signs registered within KITT's scanning matrix. He was parked where he normally parked at this hour—behind the dormitory building. Something wasn't right…these bio signs did not register as the usual ones.

KITT opened up his scanners to maximum intensity… too preoccupied with the girl, to notice the faint energy signature on the edge of his scanning range.

The AI frantically searched the building for the cause of the anomaly and found it. He opened up a line with the base.

_There is something wrong with Mikah. A harmful substance has been introduced through her room's ventilation system. Scans indicate it is a toxin of some sort although I am unable to verify which kind without further analysis. _

"_KITT, retrieve her now!!" A frantic voice responded back._

KITT deployed his grappling hook which crashed through the window of her room. Fortunately, the shattered glass was nowhere near Brittany since her bed was located away from the window. Then the unexpected happened. He was just about to proceed in his retrieval mission when his scanners registered an incoming EMP wave.

KITT swore furiously, a habit he had picked up from Michael Knight, when he realized the situation.

The last image that flashed through his processor was that of a black mustang with a yellow scanner.

KARR had returned.

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Once KARR realized five years ago that he would not be getting his original driver back, this startling fact had the AI rethink his options.

He still needed a driver but he could only merge with a person that contained the same DNA as Michael Knight. Anyone else he integrated with would die, since he was designed specifically for that one man. Who else contained Michael Knight's DNA?

Then it occurred to him and he replayed old memory files to discover the answer. The child…

The girl he had once thought to be of no importance or consequence… was now the key.

He spent every minute of every hour, tracking KITT down. His adversary had been rather clever and threw him off of his trail countless times. Once he regained his bearings, it wasn't that difficult since both AI's shared similar energy readings. Following him to the college campus six months ago had finally revealed the girl's location.

The offspring of Michael Knight…would be _his_.

To say that KARR was _pleased_ with his plan wasn't quite doing it justice. He was _thrilled_ with it, especially since he had managed to pull it off so easily. It was simple…but effective nonetheless.

Of course KITT had received faulty scans thanks to the clever deliverance of a small virus he introduced through Brittany's email system…the same internet site that KITT frequently checked. KARR was well aware that the other AI had strong firewalls and concluded that chances were next to nil to infect KITT without a confrontation… until opportunity presented itself, just the other night.

While KITT was hacking into her laptop…KARR deviously planted the virus inside of the computer's firewalls so that when the AI hacked through the laptop in order to help the girl, he happened to run right into it. Fortunately, it was so small it was nearly undetectable. Which is the only reason he dared venture near KITT this evening…just to see if it had worked.

The nanosecond KITT boosted his sensory matrix, the virus immediately scrambled KITT's scanners, resulting in the false readings. The girl was perfectly fine and blissfully unaware of the danger she was soon going to find herself in once he arrived.

KARR grinned internally in triumph. He had bested his enemy without a fight. KITT was too compassionate and naïve for his own good. While he was utterly distracted, believing the girl was in some sort of danger he was able to sneak close enough under the power of his dampening field that helped to hide his energy signature. This enabled him to release his own newly installed EMP generator.

KITT only had enough time to throw a jumble of insults and profanities in his direction before, he off-lined.

Unfortunately, KARR's own EMP weapon was not as highly advanced as his counterpart's and he now had approximately 7 minutes before he rebooted.

KARR was smart enough to launch a small canister of knock-out gas into Brittany's room via ventilation shaft moments before KITT's sensors went on the fritz. His scans were partially correct…although she was in no life threatening danger.

Time to retrieve his new driver…

KARR transformed into robot mode and plucked KITT's grappling hook down from the window with his 'fingers' and peered intently through the gaping hole in the wall. She was coughing, the vapor now gone thanks to the destroyed window. She was still conscious…how unfortunate.

He had hoped the narcotic would knock her out since the integration process could be...a little unpleasant.

She looked up from where she leaned heavily against her bed, too dizzy and confused to scream at what she saw.

A dark, almost menacing voice echoed in her ears as it began speaking to her.

_**I am KARR. You must come with me, now…Mikah Knight.**_

She locked her eyes on the robot and had the creepiest feeling that she had seen it before. Knight Rider was real?

Brittany Johnson fell to her knees, clutching her head as sharp pain assaulted her brain as memory after confusing memory surfaced to the forefront of her mind in rapid succession. It was like watching pieces of a movie, one reel after another, until at last it was over.

It could have been the virus she had somehow contracted, the knock-out gas, KARR's appearance, her wild imagination, or a combination of those things that triggered it.

She was left panting from the severity of the pain induced memory resurgence and shivered as a cold breeze from the chilly night air blew into the room. She looked up to face the evil monstrosity known as KARR.

She frowned. Even if there were details that were still missing, she knew for a fact with a gut instinct, that the name it had addressed her with, was indeed her true name.

"No. I'm not going a-anywhere with y-you…" her teeth chattered as her body temperature slowly began to drop, even though her head was burning from a fever.

KARR stretched out a hand, beckoning her to come to him.

_**You must…it is your destiny.**_

Mikah narrowed her eyes, silently defying him and refused to budge.

_**If you will not come with me willingly…I will take you by force.**_

Her eyes widened, not from fear, but from sudden realization. If KARR was here, real, and very much alive…then KITT should be as well. That black mustang…the mysterious one she had foolishly tried to talk to yesterday, that had to be KITT!!

As one of KARR's massive hands reached through the hole to grab her, she clumsily managed to dodge, but just barely. The damn knock-out gas had slowed her reflexes and cognitive abilities, profusely.

Even now, she was struggling to stay awake as both a virus and the narcotic pounded mercilessly through her system. Mikah crawled towards her only escape, which was namely the door. A high pitched whine as if a turbine was firing up, alerted her to incoming danger and she dropped flat, hugging the floor for all she was worth. Sparks flew as a red laser struck the lock and melted it in place, preventing her escape. She panicked and jiggled the doorknob desperately, unwilling to accept that she was now hopelessly trapped with no way out.

There was nothing in which she could use to…wait a minute.

Mikah spotted the metallic softball bat leaning next to her closet door and lunged for it. Once she had it firmly in her grasp, the breath was knocked out of her chest as something hard knocked her aside. She made impact with the wall next to her bed and saw KARR's hand withdraw from the room. The bat nearly flew out of her weakened grip when he had hit her but it was the only defense she had, there was no way she was letting it go so easily.

To her horror, KARR actually reached in effortlessly, after knocking some more of the wall away to widen the hole, and grabbed one of her legs. She slammed the bat against his hand with all of the force that she could muster, with a metallic clang. Thick vibrations traveled through the bat, down her arms, and rattled her teeth painfully.

Of course, how could she be so stupid?

KARR's alloys were nearly indestructible. A mere baseball bat wasn't going to do any damage to him. Mikah refused to go down without a fight though and continued to stubbornly whack him with it. This merely served KARR some mild annoyance and he plucked the bat between two of his 'fingers' and ripped it from her grasp and tossed it aside.

_**Enough of this game…it is time for us to become one**_

"Shit…"

Mikah was truly frightened now and the moment she was dangling precariously in the air, nearly two stories above ground, caught a glimpse of a black mustang down the hill in the parking lot. She put two and two together and screamed at the top of her lungs.

"KITT HELP ME!!"

No response.

The vehicle remained dark and utterly lifeless.

She cried out desperately for him again only to feel KARR roughly shake her to get her to stop.

_**He can not hear you**_

She suddenly felt a deep rage building within her and she screamed at KARR as he held her upright now between one of his clawed hands.

"What did you do to him?!"

_**He is off-line and will not save you**_

Her body froze, her struggles forgotten.

"What are you saying? KITT is dead?"

_**You will know the answer soon enough**_

"NO!"

His yellow tinted cockpit canopy opened in his chest, a couple of yards below her feet and she suddenly felt like throwing up all over him. She whimpered and pleaded with KARR, beseeching his better nature with tears in her fever glazed eyes.

"Please…let me go!"

The AI appeared to be considering her words. During the brief 15 second pause as KARR regarded Mikah, a red scanner exploded back to life in a flurry of motion as KITT finished his re-booting sequence. Mikah noticed…

Before she could scream for his help again, KARR had keenly observed her eyes shifting to something behind him. The robotic monstrosity, half-turned to regard his arch-rival and held Mikah up for him to see.

_**You have failed. Despair in the knowledge that Michael Knight's offspring… is now MINE!**_

Mikah resumed her weak, pitiful struggles against his strong, nearly crushing grip. He began to lower her towards the cockpit of perpetual doom. She had seen the episodes and knew what was about to happen to her. Look at what happened to Torres…

She heard KITT's desperate voice cry out to her and barely heard his words as she was placed inside of KARR.

_MIKAH! I WILL SAVE YOU, HOLD ON!_

"KITT…HURRY!"

Mikah began to hyperventilate as the canopy closed, sealing her inside with a hiss of hydraulics.

"This can't be happening…this can't be happening…this is just another nightmare…just a bad dream."

She saw as well as heard the various 'integration devices' lowering into place. The helmet clasped around her head tightly and she felt slight pain as two needles pricked both sides of her skull.

KARR's voice rumbled through her mind as their minds became one. It was the weirdest feeling in the universe. It was like she could see inside and outside of KARR's body.

_**I assure you…this is no dream. We will become one and nothing will stop us.**_

Oh dear God…he wasn't really going to do what she thought he was going to do?

The teen thought back to the episode when KARR integrated Torres…weren't there two appendages that STABBED him? Cause she was staring right at them.

"Oh my God…"

Her memory reminded her of something else…there was more than one of those things. Four total, if memory served her well. In the episode "Knight to King's Pawn", KARR had stabbed Torres with two other ones that were somewhere behind him. She braced herself for excruciating pain and tensed.

Nothing happened.

Her body relaxed as she opened her tightly shut eyes. That was strange…maybe she was safe after all and he wasn't really going to—

The most excruciating pain that she had ever felt in her young life exploded through her midsection and her right and left shoulders. A high pitched scream tore violently from Mikah's throat as her pain receptors in her nerve endings nearly overloaded. She found herself loathing the deep voice that was KARR as he communicated with her.

_**We are now one. **_

Her throat wouldn't cooperate as she struggled to find her voice. At long last, she was able to whisper through clenched teeth.

"_Hurts…"_

_**It is necessary. The pain will soon pass.**_

Was there _compassion_ in his voice? Maybe she imagined it through her pain fogged mind.

"_L-let me g-go…"_

_**You are my driver now. **_

She growled low as she struggled to resist KARR.

Wait, she _was_ supposed to resist him, right?

The pain did fade, as he promised. Her illness was still a hindrance, however and she still burned with a fever. The AI began an IV line, dumping some pain medication in along with it. KARR would never admit it…but he too could feel her pain and it bothered him.

Soon, the pain was gone and an exhilarating feeling rushed through her veins. Mikah recognized what it was. POWER, she could feel through her connection with KARR, the unlimited power she had access to...the power that was at her disposal. It was intoxicating and she found much to her horror, that she was craving it. She felt herself _needing_ it. KARR could also sense this and if he had a face, he would be grinning wickedly. Perhaps she would be far easier to bond with than her father. The fact that she was already becoming addicted to the power he had to offer was a good sign.

Then something happened, that he did not expect.

A concentrated EMP blast hit him. He howled in fury as he felt his systems slowly shutting down, Mikah was released as an emergency protocol activated within his programming.

**_NO!! KITT I WILL _DESTROY_ YOU FOR THIS!_**

Mikah was ejected from his cockpit and the robot fell inoperable upon the hard, unyielding pavement of the parking lot. The girl rolled a few feet before becoming completely still. KITT rolled forward until he was next to her.

She drifted in and out of consciousness, uncertain of how she had come to be in KITT's backseat.

KITT's worried voice soothed her as she suffered mild convulsions from both the fever and from the wounds KARR inflicted during the integration process. It was a sheer stroke of luck that KITT had been able to knock KARR out with a simple EMP wave. He knew that it would be very unlikely to hit him again with it the next time they met. The same trick rarely, if ever, worked twice. He was still angry with himself for lowering his guard and missing KARR's sneak attack. It nearly cost Mikah her life.

It would **_never_** happen again.

_Hold on Mikah. Stay with me…_

She saw through blurred vision, the glowing blue dashboard and the familiar globe that was KITT's voice modulator. It was becoming more difficult for her to breathe and she felt herself beginning to fade.

"KITT…"

She began to lose consciousness and heard KITT's far away voice, slowly becoming muffled.

_Hang on Mikah! We are almost there…stay with me…stay with me._

The blissful blanket of darkness that was unconsciousness… carried her off into a world free of pain.

TO BE CONTINUED!!

A/N; Sorry if this seemed too fast or too rushed but it was like combining 2 chapters into one. I figured you guys deserved a long one since it took me forever to update. PLEASE REVIEW!!


	5. Mikah's Recovery

Author's Note: I'm home now finally for the summer! :D I apologize for the update delay. College sent me into a five day coma, lol.

Thanks to: ALL OF YOU WHO REVIEWED! You know who you are... ;)

**Chapter 5**

_Wake up Mikah…_

That voice…that kind voice was calling her again.

She felt strange. As if she was just coming out of a very deep sleep.

_Please…wake up!_

That was odd, why did the voice sound so desperate all of a sudden?

"—rate is dropping…need 15 cc's…stat!"

Other strange, unfamiliar voices drifted in and out, sounding garbled and foreign in her ears, like she was hearing underwater. During the time that she drifted in and out of consciousness, she heard the familiar voice speaking every now and then, encouraging her to hold on.

_You are not alone, Mikah. Don't give up!_

"—need to stabilize!"

"—pulse is dropping"

"Hurry it up…hand me that syringe—"

"—is flat-lining doctor"

Why were they saying such things?

Her brain felt muddled and foggy and her body felt extremely heavy. Was she dying?

"CLEAR!!"

She barely registered the electric shock that zapped her chest to try to restart her heart.

_MIKAH!! _

Why was the voice screaming her name like that?

She tried to muster up the strength to speak…to let the voice know that she was just fine. That he didn't need to worry about her anymore.

Then the voice shouted at the doctors.

_I can deliver the appropriate voltage!_

The garbled voices argued in fervor, the loudest being that of the familiar one.

_--No time to argue…have experience…am most qualified!_

Then everything began to fade and her body began to sink deeper into the depths of darkness. Her body no longer felt heavy but light and weightless. Is this how one felt when their soul departed from their body?

Suddenly a PAINFUL jolt sent every nerve ending and every pain receptor on fire, ripping an animalistic shriek from her throat. The strange sensation of free falling caused her body to jerk violently as gravity seemed to pull her very spirit back down to earth. She gasped loudly, clawing at her chest in pain as her heart began to beat a frantic rhythm before thumping steadily back on track.

Mikah struggled to sit up but firm, yet gentle hands kept her down. Before she could open her eyes to assess the situation, a burning pain traveled through a point in her arm as medication was injected to help stabilize her condition.

Soon, the confusing voices drifted away and left her to sleep in peace.

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Mikah woke up to find herself in a hospital bed, hooked up to various monitors. An IV line was dripping next to her and both blood pressure and heart monitor devices were attached to her arm and finger. She groaned when pain flared up in her shoulders and abdomen.

A monitor across from her on the wall lit up and for a second confused her since no one was in the room with her to turn it on. Strangely enough, this room did seem familiar somehow. Where had she seen it before…in a dream? Her puzzled thoughts ended when the ghost monitor that had turned it-self on now revealed a glowing image.

The picture that appeared erased some of the puzzlement she was feeling and she stared at it almost mindlessly for a moment. Fuzzy remnants cleared and recognition filled her eyes. She managed a small smile, even though the pain was still bothering her.

"KITT?"

_Yes Mikah…I am glad to see that you are making such a fast recovery._

"What happened to me?"

_I have informed Doctor Clarke of your condition, he is on his way to check on you._

Mikah frowned and looked pointedly at the image of KITT's voice modulator on the screen on the wall.

"You are avoiding my question."

The door opened then and a middle aged man entered, immediately silencing KITT's retort.

"Good evening, I am Doctor Clarke. I need to check your vitals and ask you a couple of questions."

Confusion filled her light brown eyes and she cocked her head to the side curiously as she vaguely recalled something.

"Aren't you supposed to be older?"

The doctor looked at her in surprise but shook his head in the negative.

"Oh no, I believe you have me confused for the late Dr. Clarke. He was my father."

She sighed, feeling a little sad about this revelation even though her memories weren't exactly clear on the subject. What she could remember about the elderly doctor was that he had been most kind and was practically the grandfather she never had.

Mikah endured his poking and prodding tiredly and rated her pain on a scale from one to ten, while he scribbled notes down on a clipboard.

"You are in marvelous condition Ms. Knight."

She frowned in annoyance.

"That's not my name"

This statement seemed to catch the man off guard and he turned to regard her with mild concern.

"It's not? Then what is your name?"

"It's…"

She struggled to think about it and frowned when nothing came to mind right away. Tears of frustration filled her eyes when she realized that she didn't know. She couldn't remember…

"I don't know."

The Doctor scribbled more notes down and then took a pen-light out of his coat pocket and flashed it in her eyes.

"The concussion you sustained was fairly mild. The memory loss in my estimation is a temporary side effect."

"Side effect from…" she trailed off.

She had a feeling a mere concussion wasn't the only problem.

He sighed heavily, with eyes closed, and pinched the bridge of his nose with a thumb and an index finger as he considered his next words carefully.

"When KITT brought you in, you were suffering from a high fever and you were badly injured. You lost a lot of blood and your heart stopped. You were nearly declared dead until KITT—", the doctor gestured towards the monitor where KITT was still present, "—saved you by plugging into the defibulator and administered the correct voltage to restart your heart."

She was a little shocked by this revelation and looked up at KITT.

"Is this true?"

_Yes Mikah, I'm afraid it is._

"I…this is so…wow."

She felt a little overwhelmed with the knowledge of her almost-death. Her injuries were flaring up and she failed to hide a wince as she fidgeted. The doctor's keen eyes did not miss this and he pulled an already prepped syringe from his lab coat pocket and flicked the tip as he prepared to plunge it into one of the IV line ports.

She raised an eyebrow skeptically and gestured slightly towards the syringe in his hand.

"You always carry syringes in your pocket?"

The good doctor smiled.

"This is a little pain medication. You are not completely out of the woods yet. You will be free to move around in a couple of days. Until then, you are confined to bed."

She was too weak to protest and nodded her head numbly. Her eyes fluttered closed as the medication took effect, relieving her of pain.

Sleep never felt so good…

The doctor sighed and shook his head.

"I'm a little surprised she didn't put up a fight. She was always a stubborn one."

He knew this thanks to the security footage both his father and the F.L.A.G. team shared with him some years ago when he was still obtaining his degree in med school.

_Enjoy the peace and quiet while you still can, Dr. Clarke. _

Amusement was apparent in the AI's voice. It was true…once Mikah regained her strength, she would make her irritation clearly vocal. The AI knew that she was not going to enjoy her confinement the next day and would probably attempt an escape from the med ward.

"Are you certain that she remembered everything?"

_Affirmative, she recalled everything prior to retrieval. KARR's interference hindered any further information she might have divulged._

"I believe that bed rest is all she needs. Once her body heals and overcomes the trauma KARR inflicted, memory recovery should in theory, return within a week's time if not sooner."

_Thank you, Dr. Clarke…you have my gratitude. _

He nodded his head in silent acknowledgement with a small smile in place and turned to leave the room. He stopped and looked back at the screen next to the door and spoke almost as an afterthought.

"Should anything arise, you will inform me of her condition?"

_Of course, you have my word._

KITT watched the doctor exit the room and then turned his sensors solely on the slumbering teen. It was almost nostalgic watching her sleep…as if she had never left them.

Sarah had of course, been thrilled to learn of her daughter's homecoming and was already on a plane flying in from Ohio after attending to business there.

If only Michael Knight could see her now…KITT was sure that the man would be proud of her for coming this far. She had already gone through so much and in these past few days, proved to everyone that she was indeed, a fighter.

Sarah would see her strength and the potential she had to offer once mother and daughter were finally reunited. KITT secretly hoped that Mikah agreed to be his new driver since Michael was still out of commission.

KARR was still out there.

KITT learned a long time ago that he could not defeat KARR alone, his programming was dependent mainly on the guiding force of a human driver's intuition.

For better or for worse, there was only one available option left to defeat KARR.

Mikah was their only hope…

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She was unsure of how much time had passed.

If her stiff muscles were anything to go by, she would have to guess that at least ten hours had passed if not more. The pain was now a dull ache, no longer as sharp or intense as it had been when she had first awoken.

What had happened to her, anyway?

Fuzzy remnants slowly resurfaced and she had the vaguest feeling that it had been bad…but a good thing at the same time.

Wait…how could getting hurt so badly, be a **good** thing? That didn't make much sense.

Mikah supposed that she would remember eventually since that nagging sensation tickling the back of her brain was telling her that the memory was indeed there…just currently out of reach.

After stretching stiff and sore muscles, she was able to sit a little upright against the mound of pillows resting behind her head. That had to be the one thing she actually liked about hospital beds…they were comfortable and could actually be raised up to accommodate the patient's needs. While she was unconscious the good doctor had seen fit to raise the bed up so that she was no longer lying completely flat, much to her relief. She noticed that the injuries on her backside hurt far worse when gravity pulled her down. Thankfully, _that_ discomfort was one less thing to worry about.

"Uh oh…"

Mikah grimaced when she felt a distinctly uncomfortable feeling. She glanced up to see that the IV bag was nearly empty. Oh great…her bladder was full.

She struggled to move the blankets and sheets off in order to travel across the room to the bathroom. A voice abruptly stopped her struggles as she wrestled with a sheet that had somehow managed to get twisted around one leg.

_Where do you think you are going?_

Her breath hitched in her throat as her heart missed a beat, clearly startled by the sudden intrusion.

"To the bathroom…" she growled a little menacingly at the wall where KITT's voice modulator now appeared.

_I do not think that would be wise, given your current condition. You have strict orders to remain in bed._

Her face paled when she wondered with morbid curiosity if they had her attached to one of those…thingies that relieved a person's bladder so they didn't wet the bed. She risked a glance under the hospital garb and sighed with relief to see no such apparatus, and then resumed her task of untangling her legs from the sheets.

"I don't care! When nature calls…you listen...and you go," she gestured in the general direction of the bathroom without looking up at him.

_I have informed Dr. Clarke of your intentions and he is on his way to offer you assistance. _

Mikah glared at KITT via monitoring screen.

"I don't WANT or _need_ any help! What I DO need…is to PEE!!"

Her icy glare was so intense it looked like it could freeze the very fires of hell.

She finally got untangled and swung both legs to the side of the elevated hospital bed, hissing between her teeth when bandaged wounds were roughly jarred.

KITT continued to pester her, much to her annoyance.

_I insist that you remain stationary until Dr. Clarke arrives._

"Well…I INSIST that you let me go to the restroom to take a pee! Last time I checked, this is still a free country. I know my rights."

She turned to regard KITT on the screen and smirked. The smirk quickly faded into a frown when the AI actually had the audacity to threaten her.

_Do not force me to take drastic measures. _

She scoffed and crossed her arms.

"Drastic measures…what are you gonna' do KITT, crash through the wall and block the restroom door? Not very subtle…"

_I do have the means in which to tranquilize you…I have a direct uplink to the IV line._

Her eyes traced along the IV tube stuck in her arm, all the way down to the floor, and halfway across the room, where it ended at a computer terminal against the wall confirming this. All KITT had to do was hack into the terminal and turn the automated pain killer switch on in order to dump more pain meds into the IV line.

If he was true to his word and he DID tranquilize her, she would lose all muscular control and probably wet the bed.

"You are bluffing," uncertainty leaked into her voice as she looked suspiciously back at the AI.

_Would you care to test that theory?_

The door opened just then and Mikah froze like a deer caught in the headlights. It was only after Dr. Clarke entered completely, that she looked like a guilty child caught with a hand in the cookie jar.

He looked sternly at her with disapproving eyes as he approached.

"It's a good thing KITT contacted me when he did. A foolish stunt like that could have torn open the stitches in your abdomen."

Her face slowly turned red from both embarrassment and frustration since she still needed to GO.

"I just need to go to the bathroom," she distinctly did the 'potty-dance' where she sat on the bed, her face contorted into one of clear discomfort.

A dawning light entered the doctor's eyes and he chuckled good-naturedly while he helped her down.

"Why didn't you just say so? Careful now…that's it. Take it slow and easy."

He helped her limp, her way into the bathroom, showing her how to place the IV bag on the wall rack before shutting it and giving her privacy.

Mikah relieved herself, a little paranoid that a secret camera was somewhere in there. It was kind of creepy…the thought that KITT might be watching her take a pee. The pain was growing again and she growled, her paranoia soon forgotten as she washed her hands and pushed the IV stand out with her. The doctor helped her back into bed and smiled kindly.

"Next time, inform me of your intentions. I am on call 24 hours a day. If you suffer any pain in the middle of the night, KITT can assist you if I am unavailable."

She glowered at the screen on the wall, not at all happy with her current predicament.

"So I've heard…"

Great…so there would be no escape since KITT would be watching her every move. She had a gut feeling that if she so much as _twitched_ the wrong way, he would activate the pain med terminal attached to her IV line.

The doctor then removed the gauze bandages from her shoulders and checked the stitches before applying an antiseptic and more healing salve. Fresh gauze bandages with cotton padding were taped on to keep the wounds from getting infected, despite the fact they were stitched. It was always better to be safe than sorry, in Dr. Clark's mind.

"All done…I suggest you rest now. Are you in any pain?"

She shook her head a little too quickly and groaned from a bout of dizziness. She immediately brought one hand up to her forehead in an attempt to ward off the dizzy spell and immediately regretted it when hot, stabbing pain flared up in her shoulders.

"Are you certain?"

She nodded, a little more slowly even though she was clenching her teeth after a couple of the stab wounds stretched as she placed her arm back down.

KITT soon broke the awkward silence, calm and calculating as ever.

_I believe that Mikah is lying._

The doctor's eyes shifted from a shocked and irritable Mikah Knight up to the screen.

"What makes you say that?"

_Scans indicate an elevated respiration rate and perspiration level, bio readings that match pain induction. _

The doctor turned a surprised expression back to his frowning patient. He struggled to keep the grin off of his face when she growled furiously at KITT, looking utterly betrayed.

"You _JERK…_"

_I only have your best interests in mind._

She looked incredulously back as she saw the doctor pulling out another syringe from his coat pocket with her peripheral vision. She was nearly hysterical now that she was much more lucid and had both eyes locked on to the needle.

"My best _interests_ do not involve Dr. Syringe over there jamming more needles into me!! I'M NOT A PIN CUSHION!"

Dr. Clarke held his hands up in a placating gesture, one hand still holding the prepped syringe.

"I am not going to stick you with this one. This is only going into the IV line there."

Tears filled her eyes, still unable to look away from the threatening object in his hand.

He took another step forward and froze when she screeched at him to stay away.

"DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!!"

_Why are you making a scene over something so trivial?_

Her eyes were wide, still locked on to the doctor…waiting for him to make the first move. She answered KITT in a panicked and slightly defensive tone.

"KITT…I was freaking _stabbed_ when KARR nabbed me. So don't you _dare_ tell me I'm making a scene!!"

KITT internally sighed and hacked into the terminal. His soothing voice flowed into the room a few seconds later.

_I have initiated a resolution. The syringe is no longer necessary, Dr. Clark._

The man stood in apparent confusion for a second until his gaze drifted over to the computer terminal where a steady light was flashing…the red light that indicated medication had been dumped into the IV line.

He smiled and nodded his head in thanks in KITT's direction, putting the syringe back into his pocket after capping it.

Mikah gasped when a weird sensation hit her and her head started to swim. She scowled, now a bit sleepily, at KITT on the screen. She mumbled tiredly as she drifted back into much needed rest, even though she would never admit that she had felt so fatigued from the pain.

"You _traitor…_"

_I do what I can._

Despite the fact she felt a little betrayed and extremely put out by the fact she was confined to bed, a half-smile lifted at one corner of her mouth, silently letting KITT know that she wasn't really mad at him before she passed out completely.

Dr. Clark grinned devilishly and shook a finger at the wall monitor.

"You are one sneaky son-of-a-gun, you know that?"

_I try._

The doctor put KITT in charge of Mikah's IV medication fully confident in the AI's abilities.

It was going to be a blessedly peaceful night.

TO BE CONTINUED…

A/N: Thank you all for reading…PLEASE REVIEW!!


	6. Q and A Session

Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait on this one! It's hard to update when I have younger siblings vying for my attention every five seconds of every minute that I'm home, LOL. And I've started my job this past week. *sigh* tHANK YOU FOR REVIEWING!! *HUGS*

**Chapter 6**

At long last, after another excruciatingly boring two days of confinement in the med ward, she was finally granted admittance to roam free. Although the stitches wouldn't come out for another week, Mikah was given strict orders not to do anything strenuous until the doctor gave her the final all clear.

That didn't really concern her at the moment…because she was FREE!!

Her first stop was to see KITT who was waiting patiently in the middle of the massive room known as the KITT cave. It was strange seeing it again, like revisiting an old dream.

The eighteen-year-old wandered through the vast expanse of space, taking it all in with wonder. There was an entire wall devoted to an array of advanced computer systems and screens. Much of the technology was so high tech it almost seemed better suited in a sci-fi movie than in real life.

When she approached one of the consoles, a holographic keypad appeared directly in front of her. It reminded her of the movie Minority Report with the holo-technology. Her finger hesitated over the touch-screen but she restrained herself. There was no knowing what kind of trouble she would get into…what if she accidentally set off some self-destruct sequence??

Mikah continued to roam, committing the place to memory.

Flashbacks of her time spent here as a four year old child resurfaced.

Everything was so familiar but at the same time, so utterly alien.

There were a few changes she noticed, one of which was the absence of the large sliding doors that served as KITT's exit. She whirled around and realized that the layout was very much the same as the last place but something was definitely off…a new location maybe?

Before she could get much further in her puzzled thoughts, KITT made his presence known.

_I am glad to see you out and about again Mikah._

Mikah turned her head in his direction and smiled. The smile quickly faded and turned into a fierce frown when she recalled just how much trouble he got her in during her stay in the medical wing.

_-Flashback-_

_Mikah fiercely believed that a person really could die of boredom, despite KITT's constant reassurances. _

_She crawled carefully out of bed, wincing when one of the monitor wires still attached to her arm got tangled and pulled the IV rack, causing the small wheels to squeak loudly. She froze barely breathing and listened intently for the doctor's approaching footsteps. _

_When silence greeted her relieved ears, she proceeded in her sly and most brilliantly thought out plan. After removing the various medical devices attached to her (the IV line had been removed a few hours earlier by the doctor), she switched them off and began to tip toe across the room, heading directly for the door. This was her one and only shot at escape._

_The doctor left to go on his rounds on the other side of the medical wing. He operated like clockwork and she knew she had timed this perfectly._

_The second her hand firmly grasped the doorknob, a loud automated voice (that sounded suspiciously like KITT) sounded the alarm. Red strobe lights in the room went off and she backed away from the door with wide, terrified eyes wondering what in the hell was going on. _

"_EMERGENCY IN ROOM 223—code red" (the KITT-voice calmly announced over a loudspeaker while an annoying warning klaxon continued to blare in time with the red strobe lights, which immediately silenced after the door opened). _

_About fifteen seconds later and Mikah was hauled back to bed by a furious looking Dr. Clarke who admonished her none too gently about getting out of bed before her recovery time was up. He checked her stitches to make sure none of them had been torn open in her escape attempt and proceeded to hook her back up to the monitors and IV line, much to her horror. _

_KITT appeared on screen for about five seconds before flashing back out without a word. It was like he was silently mocking her…or just letting her know just who was responsible for ruining her only chance at escape._

_She growled dangerously low and narrowed her eyes at the black screen._

_KITT was so going to pay for this!_

_Dr. Clarke, still a bit grouchy at her lack of obedience, (and no longer trusting her to stay in bed) dosed her up on a heavy narcotic…AGAIN._

_END FLASHBACK_

As a matter of fact, the drug wore off a few hours ago.

It was strange in her mind, that the place was relatively abandoned right now. Weren't there supposed to be more people working here?

Her thoughts ground back to halt when she shook herself out of a 'zoning moment' and refocused angry eyes on the black mustang. She pointed an accusatory finger at him from where she stood a good ten feet away.

"I'm not talking to YOU right now…you mean spirited jerk!"

_You should have known better._

KITT calmly remarked.

Mikah turned her back on him with crossed arms in stubborn defiance.

She stood like that for a good two minutes and forty three seconds.

_If you do not wish to speak to me, then why are you still here?_

The question sounded so innocent, that she turned back around to face him in startled surprise.

"What?"

_If you and I are not on speaking terms, then why do you insist on remaining here with me?_

"Well…"

She struggled to find the right words, her face soon mirroring her own confusion.

"That's a very good question…"

Mikah walked closer until she was leaning casually against his exterior, one hand resting on his hood companionably.

"I suppose I'm not leaving because I'm not really that angry with you…"

_You're not?_

She smiled then, her first true smile in over three days.

"If I remember correctly, you are my friend…and friends stick together through thick and thin. Even if I was mad at you, it's impossible to stay mad at you for very long. I'm not the type of person to hold a grudge."

_I am relieved, Mikah. _

"Then good"

The teen shifted her weight for a second and then her eyes brightened at a memory.

"Do you mind if I sit with you?"

The passenger side door opened immediately in answer to her question.

She got in and shut the door and breathed in awe. Her favorite TV show was real…and she was sitting right here with her favorite character who also happened to be her childhood friend.

"I have so many questions…"

_Of course, ask as many as you'd like. I will do my best to answer all of them._

"Okay, first question…how can there be a TV show about you...aren't you guys supposed to be top secret?"

_Our security was compromised when a former agent threatened to reveal us to the public. We thought it would be clever to use that to our own advantage._

She could buy that, it made sense...it fit perfectly with her own theory after all.

"Why does this place look so familiar but so different at the same time? Wasn't there a big exit door that you drove out of a lot?"

_There was at our old headquarters. We were forced to relocate after KARR found us._

Just the evil AI's very name sent a cold shiver down her spine. She unconsciously snuggled further into the warm seat as if to escape the dark memories of KARR.

"Then, how do you get out of this place?"

_Look above you._

KITT's roof transformed down into convertible mode and she craned her head up. In the ceiling there was a big round metal circle that appeared to open up in the middle.

"We are **underground?!"** Mikah's mouth fell open in shock.

_Yes, approximately three hundred and seventy nine feet below ground._

"We ARE still in America, right?"

She focused wide eyes on the glowing blue orb in the dashboard that was KITT's voice modulator.

_Of course_

"Well…?"

She looked pointedly at him, awaiting further explanation. When nothing else was forthcoming she rolled her eyes.

"Okay, so where were we before the transfer?"

_Nevada…we are now in the state of Wisconsin._

She raised an eyebrow and nodded her head in silent understanding.

"So how did you get me here so fast? It's like a nine hour drive from Kentucky…"

_Emergency medical personnel were standing by in a designated carrier plane. Flight time was approximately one hour and eight minutes._

Her face lit up at this news and she nodded her head in approval.

"I'm quite impressed…wow. I do owe you thanks for…for saving me back there."

_No, you are wrong._

She was a little taken aback by his disappointed tone.

Now she felt confused all over again. What was he talking about?

_You never should have been compromised. It was my fault that KARR was able to get to you at all. If I had just kept up my guard a little better, I could have—_

"—okay seriously just stop, KITT. Stop blaming yourself for something that was out of your control. KARR is one sneaky, bastard…and one scary mo-fo to boot."

_My duty was to protect you. I failed…again._

Her eyebrows knit in puzzlement.

"What do you mean, 'again'?"

_Do you not remember?_

She thought long and hard, trying to recall any significant so-called 'failure' that KITT referred to. She came up blank.

"Not really…whatever 'failure' you refer to has been long forgotten so just forget about it, okay? What matters, is that I'm safe and perfectly fine now," she patted his dashboard in reassurance.

_I am unable to 'forget' as you so aptly suggest._

"Can't you just delete that memory file or something?"

_Not unless I want to lose the rest of the data that accompanied it._

She winced in sympathy at this newfound knowledge. That had to suck…having the clear ability to delete bad memories but unable to unless he wanted to erase helpful information.

"Well…just TRY to forget. Put it in the back of your mind…that's what I do when I don't want to remember something bad."

_Did you have anything else you would like to ask?_

He was changing the subject. How predictable. There was no way she was going to point that out either, she knew that KITT might do something nasty in retaliation…like in the episode when KITT slammed on the brakes and forced Mike to hit his head on the steering wheel for doing just that very thing.

She supposed it was time to go with the flow.

"My real parents…they are connected to you, I assume?"

This question startled KITT. She did not remember them?

_You do not remember?_

She shrugged lightly, relaxing a little more now that the conversation wasn't so tense or emotionally charged.

"I remember a little bit…I can remember some conversations, feelings, events, but that's about it. I can't remember what they look like…"

The two sat in reflective silence for a minute until KITT transformed back into his regular form and activated the internal screen above the dashboard, displaying two picture profiles on the windshield.

Mikah's eyes widened considerably and she leaned forward to get a better look.

"No way…these are _them?_"

_They are indeed._

"Sarah and Michael…together, just like in my story."

Ah yes, KITT recalled that fanfiction story clearly.

_Yes, and you are their offspring._

She sat back in the seat heavily, her brain momentarily frozen from shock, now unable to process much of anything else at the moment. How was this possible?

"Is this a joke?"

Great, now she was going into denial. What the AI said next was completely lost on her.

_I assure you, I am being quite serious._

"This isn't possible…this has to be some weird dream I'm stuck in…or better yet, maybe I'm in a coma somewhere and this is some loony fabrication forged within the depths of my subconscious imagination."

She was talking to herself now, completely ignoring KITT for the time being as she struggled to rationalize what she knew to be false.

If this was like a dream come true, then why was it so hard for her to accept it as fact?

Mikah was beginning to hyperventilate now, unable to comprehend this strange reality she now found herself in. It didn't make sense. None of it did.

KITT was doing his best to snap her out of her funk but she wasn't listening. He finally resorted to violence…his way of 'slapping' someone out of it.

His engine roared and he lurked violently forward, moving from 0-50 in two seconds. They covered most of the room and he slammed the brakes on, sending her reeling forward. Before she could slam her head on the dashboard or go flying through the windshield, he activated the restraint system and she was then thrown violently back into the seat.

She was screaming, now completely aware of her surroundings and for moment, she stopped breathing. KITT rolled slowly backwards to dock back into his original spot.

Mikah finally took a deep breath and redirected her full blown fury on him.

"KITT, WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!"

_I apologize, but you were not responding. Internal scans indicate you have suffered no injury._

She scowled at him with narrowed eyes and felt a deep, almost uncontrollable urge to kick the dashboard.

"You are SO lucky I like you so much…or you would be a pile of scrap right now," she growled at him with clenched teeth.

_I had to 'snap you out of it' since your oxygen levels were dangerously low…you were on the verge of a blackout._

"You really think that scaring the crap out of me by doing that little stunt was going to HELP THAT PROBLEM?!"

_You have resumed normal respiration rates. So in answer to your question…yes._

"I can't believe you did that…"

She slumped further into the seat, calm and rather quiet now.

_Am I correct to assume that I have your undivided attention now?_

She nodded tiredly and gestured for him to continue.

_I have been tasked with the sole responsibility of filling you in and keeping you up to date. Please pay close attention. When you were only three years old..._

That is where KITT started. On his screen he replayed old video logs of the past, beginning with the daring rescue after the mafia kidnapped her, then to the birthday they shared when she was four-years-old, moving on to KITT's battle with KARR, the loss of her father, the first mission she went on with KITT in order to find him again, and then at long last to her separation and good-byes before she was placed into the care of the couple that for the past 14 years, she had called mom and dad.

Tears filled her eyes and a thick lump formed in her throat but she did not utter a sound as she continued to watch the screen, her memory returning with crystal clarity the more she saw of her mother's heartbreaking farewell.

Then came the footage of her father's cryo-stasis and the years gone by as KITT silently guarded her. He had watched her grow up all of these years…she had seen him countless times in the past but never knew it was _him_.

Her eyes were glued to the screen, hungrily soaking in every detail until at long last, it was over and the screen darkened.

"Wow…," she breathed in awe, "so you have been watching me all this time?"

_Yes…there was always the possibility that KARR would return in an attempt to enact his revenge on me by getting to you. And he nearly succeeded…_

KITT's voice turned darker and he almost sounded angry with those last words.

"You know…that is sweet but decidedly creepy at the same time, knowing that for the majority of my life, you were just around the corner…_stalking_ me," she looked dead serious but there was laughter in her voice.

_I would not say stalking…more like __**guarding**__._

Mikah patted the dashboard soothingly with a silly grin.

"I know… I was just messing with you."

The base alarm erupted into a bone chilling cacophony, sending a flare of panic through both human and AI alike.

Her eyes went wide and she made a move to get out, in order to see what was happening as a few personnel ran out to the computer systems. KITT was faster and locked her in.

_I am receiving an encoded transmission from the away team. They are under attack._

"What?"

All sorts of worst case scenarios ran through her head at that moment. She recalled the doctor mentioning that her mother was due to return any hour now. Was she part of this so called 'away team'?

"KITT…who was part of the away team?"

_Zoe and Billy went with four highly trained special ops soldiers working for F.L.A.G to escort your mother home when they ran into a severely hostile situation. _

Mikah felt her heart fluttering in her chest as ice cold fear trickled through her veins. She had that instinctive feeling that something was terribly wrong. It thickened the air, making it difficult to breathe, nearly suffocating her.

"What kind of hostile situation?"

The AI was silent.

"KITT…I need to know."

At last he answered the dreaded question.

_KARR has returned…and he has your mother._

TO BE CONTINUED!

A/N: Please don't hate me for another cliff hanger! *locks self inside of KITT's indestructible interior and laughs maniacally as projectiles bounce harmlessly off of the mustang's nano-shell*

PLEASE REVIEW!! ^.^


	7. Tests and pop quizzes

Author's Note: I'm so very sorry for this delay in updating. I've had a lot of problems to deal with lately such as the loss of my job thanks to the crappy economy, I was sick for a time, and the fact that my insurance has dropped me since they assumed I graduated from college already. Job hunting has not been very successful sadly enough although my previous job gives me work when they can find it on occasion but there is no job security. Enough about my problems…

Thanks to: All of you who reviewed!!

Please Review because they inspire me!!

**Chapter 7**

_-Previously-_

_The base alarm erupted into a bone chilling cacophony, sending a flare of panic through both human and AI alike. _

_**I am receiving an encoded transmission from the away team. They are under attack.**_

_**Zoe and Billy went with four highly trained special ops soldiers working for F.L.A.G to escort your mother home when they ran into a severely hostile situation. **_

"_What kind of hostile situation?"_

_**KARR has returned…and he has your mother.**_

(Currently)

"KITT we have to do something!"

_You can not help this time, Mikah. You are still injured._

"So? As long as I stay inside your interior, I'll be safe!"

The AI remained silent for the longest time. It started to unnerve her.

_You will exit the vehicle and return to the medical wing immediately._

KITT's door popped open.

Mikah sat there in stunned shock. She shook her head and pulled the door closed and slid over into the driver's seat, wincing slightly when her wounds were stretched.

"KITT, I'm not going to stand by and do absolutely nothing. I'm going with you…and **we** are going to save my mother."

Die hard determination was written all over her face and her eyes burned with fiery resolve.

She had made her choice and she was going to stick with it to whatever end.

"KITT, you need me. Admit it."

To her great dismay the strobe lights and sirens shut down in response and she stared out of the windshield in disbelief as something started to happen to the room. KITT's door popped open again and his calm voice echoed through the complex.

_Simulation, terminated._

"What the hell?"

Mikah sidled out and stood gingerly to her feet, still holding on to KITT's door for support. The room flickered and faded from view to reveal a bright, brand new complex that was nothing like the old one. People that she had not seen upon walking into the room appeared as the last remnants of the holographic projections fizzled out.

One woman in particular immediately caught her attention. She looked so familiar and without realizing it, she felt tears filling her eyes as her body seemed to take control as it ran forward.

The woman smiled brightly as she was enveloped in a fierce hug.

"Mother…"

"It is so good to see you again, my sweetheart."

After another minute or two they pulled apart and stood there, studying each other with a loving scrutiny that often accompanied such parent-child reunions after many years.

"My, have you grown! Look at you…you are so beautiful."

Mikah smiled and quickly wiped away her tears.

"Is this real…or is this another one of KITT's tricks to keep me here while he goes gallivanting off without me?"

Mikah reached out and poked her mother lightly in the shoulder to make sure that Sarah wasn't just some holographic illusion.

She felt pretty solid and her hand didn't go right through her.

Sarah laughed lightly and shook her head with a knowing smile.

"Of course I'm real."

The mother's face soon changed into one of seriousness and slight worry.

"KITT made a request a couple of days ago. He wishes for you to be his new driver. Of course I said no but he suggested that we test you first in order to see if you would truly be a good candidate…"

Sarah trailed off lost in thought for a moment but was broken out of her silent reverie when her daughter spoke.

"…And?"

A small smile crossed her face although there was sadness in her eyes that did not escape Mikah's keen notice.

"You passed."

"So…what exactly did you test me on?"

"Leadership mostly, since KITT's programming dictates that he is to follow the orders of his driver, so long as those orders do not harm others. You showed me something today Mikah. You are the perfect choice, even though I'm loathe, to admit it. You showed us that you possess great potential through your courage, determination, and leadership abilities…you are so like your father that it sometimes scares me."

Sarah averted her eyes to the floor by the end of her explanation, looking almost heartbroken.

"Where is my father?"

Her mother sniffled and gestured for her to follow. Mikah glanced back to where KITT was stationed, feeling uncertain about leaving him. He flashed his headlights, silently encouraging her to go on.

Sarah led her through pristine hallways that were almost glowing white with their luminosity. It was strange, like walking through a futuristic spaceship or something.

Soon at last, she brought them to a room filled with strange equipment that Mikah wasn't even going to begin trying to identify. Sarah stopped in the very center of the room and stood staring at the floor. The middle of this room was completely bare and devoid of any of the advanced equipment that lined the walls.

Sarah bent down on one knee and punched in a sequence into the floor. That was funny, Mikah mused…she had seen no keypad.

Soon, bright white lines activated in the floor and panels shifted and slid over one another until an oval object rose from the floor. Clouds of vapor hissed from the cracks below the thing as it settled in place. It was transparent with the exception of what looked like ice crystals, clinging stubbornly to some areas of the glass.

"He's right here…"

Mikah walked hesitantly forward morbidly curious to see what condition her father was in. Of course, she had an inkling of an idea. If the ice crystals were anything to go by, then this had to be some sort of cryo-containment pod…which meant that her father wasn't dead, he was frozen.

Mikah took one of her warm hands and wiped some of the condensation and ice crystals away so that she could peer in.

Her breath hitched in her throat at what she saw and she turned troubled eyes on Sarah.

"What happened to him?"

The woman sighed heavily before she explained.

"KARR held him prisoner for months. Your grandfather, who was my father, left Michael with strict warnings—do not stay integrated with KARR for too long, or your body will eventually rely solely on the machine to give you life. In essence, KARR and Michael were merged for too long until what my father warned him about began to happen. When we retrieved him, your father was dying. His body started to suffer irreversible biological degeneration which was slowly killing him. The only way he could survive…was if he remained completely merged with KARR."

"But KARR was out of control and he killed people, right? That's what KITT told me…"

"And KITT was right. KARR tried to get Michael back once we took him but he failed. The only other way we could prevent Michael's death, was to freeze him in cryo-stasis until we could finally find a cure and reverse the damage that KARR inflicted upon him."

Sarah's eyes turned soft as she placed a hand almost lovingly against the glass of Michael's cry-containment pod.

"So…have you found a cure yet?"

Mikah shifted uncomfortably, realizing at the last second that it was a stupid question. I mean, if they had found a cure…her father wouldn't still be lying there frozen in a container like some sort of ice cream product for crying out loud!!

The teen made a disgusted face and raised a hand to cut off the beginnings of her mother's response and shook her head.

"Never mind"

The pod lowered back into the floor after Sarah hit another hidden button and the two walked sadly out of the room, a little disheartened.

"You can bring him back though, right?"

"We have been doing everything in our power to find a cure. We have the top chemists and biologists working around the clock on it. I'm not abandoning your father just yet," Sarah smiled lightly.

"So…you want me to be KITT's temporary driver until dad comes back?"

"That was the idea, yes," Sarah's tone of voice sounded none too pleased with this prospect.

"Hey, you don't need to worry about me! I can take care of myself…besides I have KITT with me this time," Mikah couldn't help but feel defensive.

Sarah stopped abruptly in the hallway with a cross look and touched the wall. A three foot screen appeared.

"Run KITT's security footage, five dash three point six."

There on the screen, Mikah saw herself banging the bat repeatedly against KARR's grasping claw, struggling to get free.

"KITT was able to get this footage while he was finishing his rebooting process. His processors were online long before any of his other essential systems. This is what can happen when KITT isn't there for you. He won't always be able to save you!"

Mikah bristled with indignation.

"Hey, I don't need you to talk to me like I'm five years old, okay?"

Sarah narrowed her eyes dangerously at her daughter and growled.

"And I don't need you talking to me with such disrespect!"

Mikah's voice took on an icy edge as she struggled to reign in her anger.

"Well then…with all due respect, there are a few things we need to get straight. First I'm not a child anymore...and second you are a mother I never grew up with. Hell, I don't even _know_ who you are! You are like a complete stranger to me!"

Mikah felt slightly guilty when she saw that her words hit home. It was all true though…and if there was one life lesson she had learned the best, it was that the truth hurt. And it hurt a lot.

Sarah's voice was softer and her expression less fierce.

"Mikah, you will always be a child to me."

Mikah shook her head sadly, her anger slowly fading.

"Then that I suppose…is your loss."

With those words, she turned sharply on her heel and walked the other way, too emotional to even attempt to finish that conversation.

Mikah wandered around, utterly lost in such an unfamiliar place until a nice techie helped her find the control and launch rooms where KITT was situated.

She struggled to keep her tears at bay and she got in the driver's seat without a word. Once the door was closed she took the steering wheel in hand.

"KITT, I need to get out of here. Please…"

She closed her eyes and rested her forehead against the steering wheel as she struggled not to cry, feeling overwhelmed with everything. She barely noticed that they were moving until KITT's calming voice filled the interior of the mustang.

_Where would you like to go?_

She sniffled and dried her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt, now that she had a change of fresh clothes on.

"Take me back to school. I need to finish what I started."

Regardless of how many protocols he knew he was breaking, KITT didn't argue and obediently went where she requested the nanosecond the elevator lifted them to the surface tunnel. He burned rubber and raced out.

_Would you like to talk about it?_

"There's nothing to talk about KITT."

To be honest, Mikah was waging an internal battle with herself. She wanted to talk about it but at the same time she didn't, because she didn't want to appear weak and she hated to burden anyone else with her own problems when they had their own.

"KITT, I don't know if I can do this."

_I believe that you can._

Mikah softly snorted and looked down at the glowing blue voice modulator.

"What makes you say that? And you can't use the 'I've watched you all these years' excuse, cause that doesn't count!"

_You are Mikah Knight._

"How reassuring," Mikah deadpanned.

_And I __**have**__ watched you all of these years._

Mikah rolled her eyes although the beginning of a smile was tugging at her lips.

"I knew you'd bring that up eventually…"

_Can you not see the strengths that you possess? _

"I guess I do but that's not the problem…"

When KITT did not question or comment further she continued.

"KITT…I'm a normal kid with normal problems. I shouldn't even be here!! I can't be your driver, I'm still in school."

_You have been un-enrolled from Berea College for the past seven minutes and fifteen seconds. That is no longer an issue._

Mikah stared wide eyed at him and gawked in a stupefied daze until it all finally sank in.

"No…that is so WRONG! Enroll me back…enroll me back right now!!"

_I am following orders._

Her eyes narrowed as one person came to mind.

"Who's…orders," she growled out through gritted teeth.

_Sarah Knight _

Mikah resisted the urge to scream and throw a fit, feeling absolutely furious.

"KITT…as your new driver, I ORDER you to ENROLL ME BACK IN COLLEGE!!"

_I am unable._

"WHY?!"

Her eyes were wide now and filled with disbelief.

_Sarah is our acting superior and contains all of the highest clearance codes. Do you have any clearance codes?_

Mikah frowned and narrowed her eyes at his voice module in clear disdain.

"NO."

_Then her orders stand. You will not be enrolled again._

"KITT, this is so not fair! That was my life back there! I have friends and even professors who were actually NICE! PLEASE!!!"

Mikah was near desperate…and would most likely be on her hands and knees begging if they hadn't of been driving at that moment.

_It is impossible now to do as you request. I am sorry._

One word piqued her curiosity and attention the most. She had never heard KITT use the word 'impossible' before…at least not that she could remember.

"And why, pray tell…is it impossible?"

_You have been declared dead. Brittany Johnson no longer exists._

"I'm gonna kill her…when we get back…she is so DEAD!!"

Mikah was feeling seriously PO'D.

Since when did her mother have the right to completely destroy her life and take away what normalcy she had left?

KITT would probably be an unsympathetic jerk and say something along the lines of '_since you were born_' just to rile her up even further.

ARGH!!!

"Where are we going? Since I can't go back to school now"

_We are returning to base._

"Please don't go back yet…PLEASE!"

She was on the verge of a panic attack, suddenly feeling claustrophobic in the car that was driving itself back to the one place she didn't want to go.

"I feel like you are driving me back to my execution…I'm begging you, KITT," she whimpered.

_While Sarah is in charge, I am to follow her directive. _

"Seriously, KITT if you have any mercy whatsoever, you will take me anywhere but back there!"

_Mikah, there is nothing I can do._

As she sat there brooding in silence a sudden memory surfaced to mind from one of the episodes. If she was a field agent and as KITT's driver, the driver could sometimes over-ride the authority of the commanding officer back at base if the situation warranted it.

"KITT, as your driver, I am over-riding Sarah's authority immediately. If I'm not mistaken, your programming constitutes that you protect your driver and your driver's overall well-being. I am for starters…very hungry and emotionally distressed. I order you to turn around and take me somewhere so I can get a cheeseburger…"

_Unfortunately, you do not know the clearance code to over-ride pre-existing orders. You can find a cheeseburger in the mess hall once we return._

"I can't believe this!"

Mikah threw her hands up in the air in defeat. Just as all hope seemed lost, she remembered something crucial.

"Hey KITT, you guys never put the real clearance codes into the Knight Rider episodes, did you?"

_For security purposes, we did not._

"Do you have an operating manual or something? You know…the one that my father had to study before he took you out into the field?"

_Yes_

His glove compartment opened and a book slid out.

"Thanks, KITT"

KITT's internal cameras caught the mischievous twinkle in her eyes and he knew…just what exactly she was up to.

_By the time you find the right code, it will be too late. We are approximately two minutes and twenty three seconds away from base._

"All the more reason for me to look faster, then huh?"

Mikah leafed through page after page of the thick user's manual, her eyebrows knit with concentration.

A couple of seconds passed from the moment she first started searching and she crowed in triumph.

"Ah-HA! I love the index section…"

Mikah held the page up for KITT to see with a huge grin on her face.

"KITT, by authorization of section three sub section delta, as your driver I over-ride any pre-existing orders in the interest of my protection. Initiate clearance code 57893-2."

_Over-ride clearance code accepted. Where would you like to go, Mikah?_

"Please, for the love of all that is still good in this world…take me to a Burger King!

_As you wish._

Just then an image of her mother appeared on screen with a disgusted frown.

"Just what do you think you are doing, Mikah?! I told KITT to bring you back because it's still not SAFE out there with KARR still after you!"

Mikah smiled and nodded her head politely, appearing to be listening to her mother's ranting and ravings. She whispered through her teeth just then, loud enough for KITT to hear her.

"KITT…close communications contact with FLAG headquarters."

The screen disappeared and the windshield resumed its normal, everyday function.

_Communications contact with FLAG has been lost._

"Thank God…"

Mikah breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, KITT."

_If I may say so, I believe that you have just passed your second test._

Mikah turned her head sharply to look at his glowing blue dashboard in mild confusion.

"Excuse me?"

_You have displayed great intelligence and ingenuity while under extreme distress. It is crucial for my driver to think and respond quickly while under pressure. You passed with flying colors, congratulations._

"Anymore surprise 'tests' or pop quizzes I need to be aware of?"

Mikah looked suspiciously at him from where she sat in the driver's seat.

_No, I believe that was your final test._

They drove through a drive through since KITT refused to let her out of his interior, just a little over-protective about her leaving him when KARR was still on the loose.

She sat happily eating her cheeseburger and fries, not at all upset now that they were driving back to base. Now that she had a full stomach, she felt a little more confident about meeting Sarah's wrath head-on.

"Don't worry KITT I'll make sure that she doesn't blame you for any of my 'juvenile' or insubordinate behaviors just now."

_You forget one very important thing, Mikah._

She smiled with confused filled eyes as she struggled in vain to remember what he was referring to.

"And what is that?"

_We are a team. _

So he was going to take the blame now, too huh?

She laughed and lightly patted the dashboard.

"And so we are"

Going back to the base no longer felt threatening or scary as it did an hour ago.

I mean come on…KITT and Mikah versus an angry Sarah…it seemed like good odds to her.

_Docking sequence initiated. _

Mikah took a deep breath and with a smile she got out, softly patting the roof of the mustang in reassurance as an irate looking Sarah spotted them from across the room.

"Let's do this…"

TO BE CONTINUED!!

Author's Note: For the longest time, I lost my inspiration in writing this story since there were so many reviewers who wished to see the story take so many different directions. Unfortunately, I am not able to write in everyone's ideas but I still do appreciate hearing them all! Thank you and hopefully I can update more frequently.

All of you Zoe and Billy lovers out there…our two favorite techies will make their return appearance next chapter!! ^_^

**Thanks and please review!!**


	8. Training Begins

Author's Note: I send each and every one of you my deepest apologies for not updating this story in so long. To put it simply, life has not been very kind to me these past 2 months. I do hope that you continue your interest in this story, even if I am slow at updating. Thanks so much for your support and for the reviews you send me, it really does make a difference.

Disclaimer: I don't own star wars or webster's dictionary.

**Chapter 8**

"Okay, I'll do it."

"Really" a despondent voice inquired dryly.

"Just like that…you sure you don't want more time to think this through?" the same voice questioned again.

"I'm sure."

"There are a lot of risks and variables involved if you go through with the procedure."

"I understand and I'm ready. Don't worry about me, mom."

"Very well" Sarah nodded her head with a small smile.

There would be no stopping her daughter once her mind was made up…just like her father.

Doctors and nurses scrambled around preparing the operating room. A couple of nurses were helping Mikah prepare for a life changing procedure.

Sarah and her team over the years, invented technology advanced beyond modern science. The surgically implanted GPS chip of yesterday that was used when Michael was still KITT's partner was ancient history.

This was entirely new and extremely delicate work.

Mikah put on a brave face even though inside, she was quivering with fear. This was insane…she almost wanted to back out and run like a coward but knew in her heart that this was something that needed to be done. If she was going to take up her father's mantel as KITT's new driver, then she needed to be prepared for anything out in the field.

"Let's begin."

After putting Mikah under with anesthesia, the doctors operated to surgically implant a special chip into her brain that carried a remote frequency. This pea-sized chip would interact with the communications center within her cerebral cortex. The chip as well as the specialized frequency, would vastly improve the subject's memory, attention, perceptual awareness, thought, language, and even consciousness. It also operated as a GPS implant and also served as a more permanent 'earwig', so that Mikah and KITT could always communicate without worrying about lost contact.

The only risks of this operation were, possibility of brain damage should the chip not integrate properly with the tissues of her brain, amnesia, and of course the worst case scenario, death.

Of course the first two test subjects to have undergone this same operation had pulled out fine, although one of the two had gone irreversibly insane after the first two months. Fortunately, they had managed to work out the bugs in the chip so that the risk factor of insanity was virtually eliminated.

The tedious operation took a grand total of eleven hours and fifty-two minutes. KITT, ever loyal to his driver, kept the doctors informed of any changes in her condition. Once during the operation, Mikah had stopped breathing but the doctors were able to get everything back under control.

If KITT could feel emotions as a human being could, there was one word to sum it all up for him right now. ANXIETY

He felt far too anxious about this whole ordeal and was all too relieved when the doctor informed everyone that Mikah had made it and was now recovering.

For three and a half weeks, she had to undergo a recovery process. That also included physical therapy since her brain had to get used to interacting with a highly advanced chip. Soon enough, her reflexes quickened, her memory was sharper than she ever remembered it to be, and her overall awareness was heightened.

Mikah was currently sitting on the top of an examination table in the doctor's office. Today was the day that she would be released from the ever watchful eyes of the medical staff.

"So, what's the bad news?"

Doctor Clarke laughed and shook his head.

"You are free to go."

"YES!"

"BUT, on one condition."

Mikah slouched in defeat and sighed heavily.

This earned another chuckle from the good doctor.

"You are to return for a checkup once every month, to make sure the chip and your brain activity is functioning at normal capacity."

"Yes sir!"

Mikah gave the doc a mock salute before hopping down from the table and headed for the door. The doctor stopped her by clearing his throat. She turned to look back at him with mild curiosity.

"There is one more thing…we have to activate the communications aspect of the chip, using a computer coded frequency."

Mikah's face fell.

"Will this hurt?"

"Not at all," Dr. Clarke reassured with a soft smile.

He pulled out a small data pad and punched in a code that Sarah had given him.

Mikah hissed in pain when a high pitched squeal followed by a short static like noise filled her ears.

"OW! Jeez…you could have warned me properly!"

Dr. Clarke grinned back at her not offering her any condolence.

"Never trust a doctor…if they say it won't hurt…that must mean it's going to hurt a lot."

Mikah was massaging her ears as she looked incredulously at him from across the room.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say that you were actually enjoying this."

"Perhaps" he had a sparkle in his eyes as he smiled, confirming Mikah's internal suspicion.

_Wow, this guy really DOES like torturing me…_

_**Be thankful that he is letting you go, rather than keeping you for further observance.**_

Mikah screamed and spun around, half expecting to see KITT sitting behind her in the doorway.

"What the…"

She looked all around the room in obvious confusion, wondering where his voice had originated from. None of the speakers or monitors had been activated.

"KITT?"

The doctor shook with laughter at her predicament.

"If I'm not mistaken, you have to _think_ in order for KITT to hear you."

Her confusion merely doubled.

"What?"

_This guy is a total nut job…_

_**At least he has the credentials.**_

Mikah's eyes were about as wide as dinner plates by now and she felt a touch panicky.

"HOLY CRAP!"

She finally figured it out.

"WOAH…wait a minute!! KITT and I can communicate TELEPATHICALLY?!"

"In a sense, yes," Doctor Clarke's amusement had grown upon witnessing her expression change when the sudden epiphany had dawned upon her.

_KITT…can you seriously hear what I'm thinking right now?_

_**Loud and clear**_

She stood there with her mouth agape, in slight shock. They never told her that _this_ was part of the package.

"Oh wow…I have to say that I'm seriously geeking out right now. This is probably one of the _coolest_ things to have ever happened to me."

_Not to mention insanely weird…_

_**I can relate.**_

"AHHH!"

Mikah jumped at the voice in her head…KITT's voice sounded so clear, like he was talking right next to her. She frowned in annoyance as she struggled to get her heart rate back under control.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to this…"

"It will take some time. If you need anything at all, don't hesitate to call."

Mikah smiled politely and nodded.

"Thanks Doc."

"Anytime, kiddo"

Mikah left the office and returned to her quarters. This was crazy…all of it. It was going to take some time to adjust but at the same time, it was about as cool as having some sort of super power.

_Hmm…I wonder if I can move objects with my mind…_

_**Telekinesis is science fiction and has yet to be proven otherwise.**_

Mikah was startled but managed to ignore him. She focused on trying to move one of her shoes from across the room. It didn't budge.

"Come on!"

The teen kept trying until at last she realized that KITT was probably right. Well at least she could say she tried…

_Hmm…I guess I can't use the force._

_**I told you so.**_

This interaction between them reminded her of the time when she had been talking to KITT via cellular uplink when Shannon had been trying to kill her as a three year old. Only this time, the communication was happening inside of her own head.

_I suppose I can get used to this…so long as I don't lose what's left of my fragile sanity._

_**I highly doubt you are in any danger of that. I have calculated all of the risk factors accordingly. Insanity is near the bottom of the list.**_

_Oh goody…I feel a little saner already._

Mikah sighed and stretched out on her bed lazily.

_So KITT…how exactly is this communication in our minds thing actually working?_

_**The small chip they implanted within your cerebral cortex sends and receives encrypted frequencies, allowing us to communicate accordingly. You can 'hear' me in your own mind…as for myself it is along the same lines as receiving a private com-link channel. In other words, your thoughts transmit through a private frequency that runs through my internal communications network, resulting in what I 'hear' as speech.**_

_This is weird…but in a good way. How exactly am I going to keep my thoughts private? I'm not sure I want you to know what I'm thinking every second of the day…that's just creepy._

_**You will begin training this next week. You will be instructed on how to initiate communications blocks. Until that time, I'm afraid you will just have to…think happy thoughts, as the saying goes.**_

Mikah snorted, even though she knew KITT couldn't hear it.

_Okay then…I just won't think anymore._

Mikah sighed and stared up at the ceiling, trying to keep her mind as blank as possible. Her concentration was ruined however when her door chime rang.

"Who is it?"

The door opened to reveal the slim figure of her mother. Sarah smiled at her and entered the room.

"I just wanted to check up on you and see how you are doing."

"I'm fine…just having a very odd conversation with KITT inside of my head. Hey…seriously, I don't know if I can handle having an advanced AI picking up every single thought of mine, 24/7."

Sarah looked sympathetic and sat next to her on the bed.

"KITT will do his best to give you the privacy you need."

"That's good."

"Dinner will be served in the mess hall in half an hour."

With that said Sarah got up and left her daughter in peace, knowing that she still wanted her own space.

"Good, I'm gonna go and see what they have for us."

_Holy crap…did I just refer to myself in a plural tense?!_

_**You were undoubtedly thinking of me as well as yourself, resulting in usage of the plural tense.**_

_I seriously hope this doesn't completely ruin what's still left of my sanity…I almost feel like I have a split personality with you talking to me in my head._

_**A temporary side effect that will pass with time**_

_You sounded almost like Dr. Clarke that time, I'm impressed._

Mikah left her room to seek out the cafeteria, her stomach already rumbling.

_Hmm…I wonder what's for dinner tonight…I hope we have something good like chicken alfredo or heck, I'll even take a cheeseburger._

_**Cheeseburgers are strictly prohibited.**_

"STOP DOING THAT!"

Mikah had stopped in the middle of the hallway and hadn't realized she had screamed that out loud until a couple of tech support guys stared at her as if she'd sprouted a second head.

She laughed weakly and forced a smile already feeling embarrassed.

It was like having some random person walk in on you while you were talking to yourself.

"Sorry, I thought you were someone else…"

Mikah hastily ran the other way, taking the longer route to the cafeteria.

_Great…now everyone thinks that I'm crazy!_

_**I highly doubt that two people constitute 'everyone'.**_

_KITT…_

_**Yes Mikah?**_

_Shut up._

Although she felt mildly annoyed, her thoughts came across to the AI as rather playful. Mikah sometimes got fed up with KITT's 'know-it-all' attitude and this happened to be one of those moments.

When she got to the cafeteria, it was packed. The noise was a little irritating but Mikah currently had a one track mind…FOOD.

After grabbing a tray and a plate, she walked through the line and noticed with distaste that tonight's meal was a little _too_ healthy for her liking. She frowned but still managed to be polite to the servers as they piled her plate with green salad, steamed carrots, and veggie lasagna.

Mikah sighed heavily as she sat down at a near deserted table as some of the staff began to trickle out, most likely to resume their next shifts. She sat with a fork, picking at her food and couldn't help but complain.

_Lasagna without beef is insulting…this is so messed up._

_**As the saying goes, 'beggars can't be choosers'.**_

Mikah growled a little frustrated.

_HEY! You are supposed to be on MY side here! Have some sympathy for once…_

_**If you are to become my driver, you will do as you are instructed and stick to the dietary requirements that F.L.A.G. has issued.**_

_Wait…what? What dietary requirements?_

_**Did you not read the instruction manual?**_

Mikah started to feel horror coursing through her body at his last question.

_What instruction manual?_

_**The one that your mother set on top of the desk you never use in your quarters.**_

_I guess I missed that memo. Oh well, can't break the rules if I don't know the rules…looks like it's time for me to go and snag a cheeseburger._

_**The kitchen staff has already been informed of your dietary needs.**_

Mikah was fuming now and refused to answer back.

_**Mikah?**_

_Leave me alone. I want to brood and throw a fit in peace._

_**Very well, if that is what you prefer.**_

Mikah looked down at the mutilated veggie lasagna, mashed carrots, and shredded salad and released another mournful sigh.

_This totally sucks…first chance I get…I'm gonna sneak out the back door, take a company vehicle, and go get some fast food._

_**You will never make it past the sentries.**_

"WOULD YOU JUST STOP ALREADY?!!"

Mikah finally screamed aloud, as her frustration reached a breaking point.

The cafeteria fell completely silent, all eyes on her. Mikah could feel one of her eyes twitching and she immediately got up from her seat and stormed out of the cafeteria, leaving her plate on the table.

_STOP! JUST STOP IT KITT!! _

This time, it was the AI's turn to be silent.

_I absolutely hate my life right now. I have a nosey AI picking up every thought like a signal flare, I can't eat whatever I want when I want it, I can't go anywhere without clearance…THIS…SUCKS._

If KITT heard her internal ranting, he made no comment. That was just fine with Mikah.

"I guess even wannabe 'super powers' come with a heavy price," she muttered as she finally made it back to her quarters.

As soon as the door slid shut behind her she marched across the room to see that indeed, there was a very thick manual sitting on her desk. The thing was about as thick as a Websters Dictionary.

"Holy crap…"

She flipped it open and began to read through it. The first section was an introductory reading, congratulating her on becoming one of F.L.A.G.'s secret agents, etc. The second section mostly gave her a good idea on what to expect when she finally began weapons and combat training. The third section pertained to operations and codes to be used when out in the field or when working with KITT. The fourth section dealt mainly with standard procedures when encountering dangerous situations and survival tactics. The fifth section was the list of foods that were strictly prohibited. The foods that she could eat were marked in blue ink…prohibited foods were typed up in red.

As her eyes skimmed down the long list of banned food items, she felt her heart sinking into the depths of her stomach. Each category had some examples next to it.

No fatty foods: such as grilled cheese, cheeseburgers, or French fries.

No foods that contain high concentrations of sugars and starches: such as pasta, candy, ice cream, bakery goods, or chocolate.

No food items that have high sodium or excess carbohydrates unless recommended by a superior: no potato chips, vast amounts of bread products, or Chinese food.

Meats are to be portioned according to the dietary health chart.

Soda pop and juices with high amounts of sugar are also prohibited until further notice.

_I think I'm going to be sick…_

This was going to be tougher than she thought.

_I don't think I can last three days on a diet like this…_

_**You will be able to eat whatever you please once you have completed training.**_

Mikah smirked.

She glanced back down at the thick manual and sighed again.

"At least they didn't ban peanut butter from this list…"

Mikah sat down at the desk in her room and flipped back to page one and began to read. She felt it would be wise to get a little ahead and know _something_ before next week's torture finally began. Being a little prepared was probably the best thing she could do right now, especially after KITT pulled the sudden 'food restrictions' crap on her without warning.

After three hours of reading, Mikah had drifted off to sleep.

KRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKR

Day one of endless torture had finally come.

To say that Mikah felt nervous was an understatement. She was _terrified_…mostly because she didn't know what to expect. KITT had assured her by leaving her with a cryptic piece of advice.

_**Expect the unexpected and you will do just fine.**_

That still did nothing to ease the jitters or to calm the butterflies that were furiously attacking her stomach. She was currently dressed in a plain white martial arts uniform, minus the belt.

Today was the first day in which she began combat training. To be more specific…hand-to-hand combat training...

She had taken taekwondo when living with her adoptive parents for a few years in high school but this was totally different. This was the hard core, DO or DIE type of martial arts. From what she had gathered from other members of the organization, the training instructor whose name she had yet to learn was brutally unmerciful.

_This is it…I'm going to die. It's been nice knowing you KITT._

_**Mikah, you will do fine. I have faith in you.**_

Mikah's eyes widened when she saw the martial arts instructor. He was an asian man around five foot seven who had calculating brown eyes and ripped muscles. Even though she was a couple of inches taller than the man…Mikah wouldn't doubt it if he could pick her up and throw her across the room, like a kid tossing a football.

_Okay I must admit…I'm over-exaggerating a bit._

_**Not to mention, acutely over-dramatic.**_

_That's better than being acutely senile and boring. _

The instructor made a stiff bow in front of her before extending his hand in greeting. She hesitantly reached her hand out to shake it and struggled to keep the wince off of her grinning face when his hand began to crush her own in a steel grip.

_KITT…I request loud rock music at my funeral._

Mikah was thrown completely off guard when her combat instructor then pulled a stunning take-down move on her. Her arm, the same one that had been shaking his hand a second ago, was now pinned painfully behind her back while her face was currently getting acquainted with the matted floor.

_At least someone had the decency to clean these mats from the previous victim's blood…_

_**Do as he instructs and you will succeed.**_

Mikah groaned as she helplessly writhed on the floor trying to escape the instructor's maneuver.

_KITT…how can I do as he instructs when the man hasn't spoken ONE WORD TO ME YET?!!_

"Um…master…whatever…you're crushing me…"

She was a little surprised when he released her and helped her to her feet.

"You will not see mercy from the opponents you will one day face. Accept no mercy…deliver no mercy."

Mikah felt a little freaked out at his statement.

_He makes it sound as if I'm going to be fighting hard core assassins or something! _

_**That may be a possibility. You never know what mission we will be sent on or who our enemies will be. This instructor will prepare you for the future encounters we will face.**_

Mikah didn't have time to think up a response since the master instructor came flying at her with a fist. She dodged and stepped aside, quite surprised at his tactic.

"HEY! What the hell do you think you are doing?! Aren't you supposed to be _instructing_ me rather than trying to take my head off? I just met you five minutes ago for crying out loud!"

Mikah yelped and dove to the side when he came at her with a flurry of kicks and other advanced moves.

_Holy crap, he's trying to kill me!_

Mikah ran to the other side of the transparent room looking for an exit, only to find that they had been sealed off in a tight bubble. There were rows of bleachers lined up outside of the domed room for the main purpose of observation.

_I don't want to die!!_

"HOLY CRAP!"

Mikah turned back around to see the master instructor delivering a round house kick. Thanks to the fact she was already backed against the wall, she couldn't avoid it. The kick knocked the wind out of her as it connected with her midsection and she attempted to deliver one of her own. The instructor caught her foot and twisted her leg around so that she was now facing the other way.

"You can manipulate your opponent and force them to bend to your will."

The instructor then released her leg, leaving Mikah standing there wide eyed.

"Attack me."

Mikah wasn't sure she had heard correctly.

"Excuse me?"

"Attack me."

Her face turned into one of discomfort and she shook her head.

"No thanks…I'll pass."

The master's face soon expressed his displeasure.

"If you refuse, then you will fail."

Mikah honestly felt scared.

_I am so dead._

_**You will be even more so, if you do not do as he instructs.**_

She sighed heavily and removed all emotion from her face. It was not wise to let your opponent know what you were feeling…especially fear because they would use that against you.

First, she bowed to her instructor in a sign of respect and to also inform him that she was accepting his challenge. Secondly she slid into a fighting stance with one fist guarding her midsection while the other was raised to protect her face should he try something tricky. It was a classic stance that had served her well in the past but she honestly didn't think it would be enough to save her now.

_This has got to be one of the most suicidal things I have ever done in my life._

With that thought, she attacked her master in a flurry of punches, roundhouse kicks, side- kicks, and even some old school karate chops that were all effectively blocked by the instructor.

She kept going until she was sweating profusely and panting for air.

_Damn…I feel like such a failure. I wasn't able to get ONE hit in._

_**Considering you have not practiced martial arts in four years, you performed above expectation. **_

"You have done well. We will end the session for the day."

The master instructor bowed, Mikah mirroring him before they parted ways.

_**If I am not mistaken, your training will be much different from here on out.**_

_What makes you say that?_

_**He usually tests newcomers to see what skill or potential they have to offer him before he truly begins instruction.**_

Mikah who had been preoccupied with wiping sweat from her face with a soft white towel froze in shock.

_Holy crap…do you mean to tell me that today…he was going EASY on me?!_

_**Not entirely.**_

Mikah's eyes narrowed as she swiped a water bottle marked with her name on it from a nearby bench as she left the training area.

_KITT…I'm serious. Was he going easy on me?_

_**Yes.**_

_Great…just great_

Mikah tiredly trudged to the shower, already feeling some sore muscles making their presence known. From now on, she would have to stretch _before_ visiting master…whatever his name was.

_This is going to be a long week…_

TO BE CONTINUED!!


	9. Leadership 101

Disclaimer: I do not own Red Vs. Blue or Sarge...true owner is Rooster-teeth I believe.

Author's Note: After being sick for two weeks I'm finally well enough to continue with this story! I hope you enjoy and as always, I truly do appreciate the feedback from all of you!!

_Thanks to: Rainack, Kitarensen, JustAnotherDreamer, My_Friend_KITT, ITman496, BuckleWinner, Blue-eyed-wondergirl, and potterfan2006 for reviewing!! _

**Chapter 9**

In the span of two weeks, Mikah learned far more than she imagined she would. She remained studious in memorizing the instruction manual and in sticking to the ridiculous diet. She learned to tolerate the dietary requirements once she got her hands on a jumbo sized jar of peanut butter. Then she felt a great deal better about it all.

She noticed after the second week that the diet was indeed improving her health. She felt faster, healthier, and even stronger. Her muscles were toning as she developed her strength and for once, she didn't feel like a weakling. Despite these good changes, Mikah still retained her personality and dreamt night after night that she was biting into a nice, juicy, cheeseburger…

The moment she was finally free of this prison…she was going to kidnap KITT and go out for a cheeseburger, fries, and a chocolate milkshake.

"Can't wait for that…it will be a dream come true," Mikah smirked as she laced up her running shoes.

Over the course of the first week, she would wake up, get dressed, meet master instructor Chang for hand to hand martial arts training, then shower and rub on some icy-hot afterwards before heading down to the simulation lab in which she practiced weapons training with a standard M-16 assault rifle and a desert eagle pistol. After weapons training, she went to the mess hall for lunch, had two hours to study the manual before she was called down for interactive learning with KITT in which she was placed through simulation after simulation with him until she finally used the correct command codes.

She could handle taking on Master Chang and getting the crap kicked out of her day after day…she could handle the drill sergeant screaming in her face during weapons training…she could even handle surviving off of the dietary requirements and guidelines they tortured her with week after week. What she _couldn't_ handle, was her mother's disappointment when day after day, she struggled to succeed in nailing the command codes with KITT on the simulation deck only to screw up once again.

"Terminate simulation!! Mikah…this is the fifth time today that you incorrectly used the same three codes."

"I'm doing the best that I can. I have been studying the manual and memorizing in detail, most of the—"

"Then why these slip ups? These command codes are a matter of life and death, Mikah! You need to focus!"

Mikah stared evenly at her mother from where she stood beside KITT. When she spoke, her voice was even and calm, soft but controlled despite the raging emotions she felt spiraling out of control within her.

"I'm sorry and I will do my best to correct my mistakes."

"Sorry will not save your life in the field."

Sarah met Mikah's eyes firmly from where she was leaning against the observation railing half a floor above her. Mikah couldn't stop the tears that were pooling in her eyes but her voice remained steady.

"Since I am such a failure, I will return to quarters and re-study the manual until I have every code memorized."

She turned to leave when Sarah made no objections, so she half turned to look back at her mother with sorrow on her face.

"I hope that in time, you will come to realize that I'm not Michael Knight."

With those words she quietly slipped away, leaving a stunned Sarah behind, completely unaware that her words had struck with such cruel force that it left the woman who called herself her mother sobbing on the floor.

KITT attempted to communicate with her but Mikah had recently mastered communications blocks and she used one now, too distraught to talk to the AI. When Mikah returned to quarters, she was a little surprised to find an asian woman, waiting for her. She hastily swiped the tears away from her eyes and cheeks before the other could see.

"Zoe?"

"Mikah, it's good to see you again."

She smiled warmly as she approached.

"I just wanted to let you know that Billy and I are proud of everything that you have accomplished here. Your father would be proud."

Mikah shook her head slowly, her eyes betraying her true feelings.

"My mother thinks that I'm a failure."

Zoe frowned although her tone became softer.

"That's not true. Your mother is pushing you because she wants you to be the best that you can be."

"I still feel like I'm not good enough…"

"Oh, sweety…"

Zoe pulled Mikah into a hug and began to pat her back in a comforting manner.

"Your mother loves you very much and she wants you to stay safe."

Mikah pulled away and looked Zoe in the eye.

"She is pushing me so hard since my father is no longer around to protect me, you mean."

"I didn't say that."

"It's still true, isn't it?"

Zoe looked absolutely crestfallen and she sighed heavily.

"Look Zoe, I'm not a little child anymore…I can take care of myself."

The Asian woman smiled this time with a twinkle in her eyes.

"I know you can. You have grown into a beautiful, strong, and independent woman…your mother knows this."

Mikah nodded her head, the beginning of a smile tugging at her lips.

"Thank you Zoe."

"Anytime, girlfriend!"

Zoe lightly punched her in the shoulder playfully before walking towards the door.

"You need anything, you call me okay?"

Mikah nodded with a smile, already feeling better.

Zoe always knew what to say to make her smile.

After she had gone, Mikah went to her desk and sat down, preparing to study the manual some more.

_**Mikah, I have just received new orders.**_

_KITT…I thought I had a communications block in place._

_**Your communications block was dropped fifty eight seconds ago.**_

_Oh…okay then. What are the orders?_

_**Sergeant Pearson has requested a mandatory meeting with you in the weapons range.**_

Mikah actually laughed at this.

_KITT, you don't __**request**__ anything if it's its mandatory._

**_He _requires_ your immediate presence. He claims it is of some urgency._**

_Fine, tell him I'll be there in two._

**_Affirmative, I will be awaiting your further orders, _Captain_._**

Mikah smiled brightly at KITT's playful banter as she headed out of her room to meet with Sarge as she took to calling him since his voice reminded her so much of the Sarge from Red vs. Blue. Their first meeting had been truly memorable…

_-Flashback-_

"_Attention cadets!" _

_Mikah snapped to attention stiffly, a little wary ever since her first introduction with Master Chang._

"_I am Sergeant Pearson. Welcome to weapons training 101. Starting today, you are now an official member of red squad. Sound off and give your name and title!"_

"_Mikah Knight, KITT's new driver, SIR!"_

"_Jamie Johnson, F.L.A.G. special Ops, SIR!"_

"_Sam Talcott, F.L.A.G. security, SIR!"_

"_Wesley Fox, F.L.A.G…uhh…"_

_The young man trailed off suddenly unsure of what his position was supposed to be, already sweating under the pressure. The sergeant got in his face and began to yell in that oddly, Sarge-sounding voice._

"_WHAT IS YOUR TITLE, SOLDIER?!"_

_The young man straightened up and began again._

"_Wesley Fox, F.L.A.G. field operative, SIR!" _

"_Ladies, this ain't no brownie meeting! Drop down and give me fifty on the double!! For every one of you sissy girl scouts that hesitates in answering a question, ALL of you will drop and give me fifty, understood?!"_

_A chorus of "Sir, yes sirs" echoed in the firing range as the four new recruits dropped down and did push-ups, Mikah doing relatively well since she began strength training the past five days. Once they were finished they stood back up at attention as the Sarge began to lecture them about gun safety._

"_And this is the safety switch…"_

_Wesley raised his hand cautiously and caught Sarge's attention._

"_Son, DO NOT raise your hand. This ain't the second grade! You will wait until AFTER the presentation to ask a question."_

"_Sir…I think that I'm in the wrong class…"_

"_You THINK or you KNOW?!"_

"_I…uhhh…I'm pretty sure that I'm not supposed to be here."_

"_Son, until you know for sure, drop down and give me twenty"_

_This was too much and Mikah could barely contain her laughter and ended up choking back a giggle. The Sarge was in her face immediately._

"_Is something funny, Cadet?!"_

"_No, sir"_

"_Drop and give me twenty."_

_Mikah snorted still highly amused and dropped down without hesitation. As she continued to listen to Sarge's voice as he lectured everyone about proper protocols, finally caved in and fell to the floor laughing in a helpless heap. _

_Sarge was hovering above her, looking concerned._

"_Cadet, you feeling ill? Cause you just earned yourself another twenty!!"_

"_S-sir! You…y-you…remind me of Sarge."_

_The man looked absolutely confused._

"_Cadet, you need your head examined! I __**am**__ Sarge and it would do you well to remember that!" _

_Mikah looked at him through tear filled eyes and continued to writhe on the floor from laughter, releasing both her stress and the hilarity that her weapons instructor was practically the clone of the Red vs. Blue Sarge._

_Sarge, a little irritated that she was not doing push-ups, screamed in her face again before storming back over to the other three cadets._

"_I want another twenty, on the double!!"_

_Mikah finally got her giggle fit under control and completed her 60 push-ups, finally sweating and now with shaking arms she stood back to attention, a huge grin plastered on her face whenever Sarge wasn't looking._

_End Flashback_

Mikah entered the firing range where Sarge was waiting for her with hands clasped behind his back, still dressed in army fatigues.

"At ease, cadet"

Mikah did as ordered, wondering what all of this was about.

"After two weeks of training, I have seen a great deal of improvement. I have hereby seen fit, to appoint you Captain of red squad. You will from now on, take charge in my absence."

"Permission to speak freely, sir"

"Permission granted"

"Where are you going?"

"I'm not goin' anywhere. I just have to make sure those development bozo's are completing their assignment. So I need you to take charge and continue training, code eleven delta red."

Mikah was grinning widely now. Out of all of the codes that she had memorized and learned, it was the weapons training. And eleven delta red just happened to be her favorite training exercise of them all. She snapped a sharp salute which Sarge returned.

"Thank you, Sir."

"You are dismissed."

Mikah left feeling elated. This was the first time she had ever been put in charge of anything and it made her feel important for once. It was a cool feeling and she couldn't wait to 'take charge' as Sarge so adequately put it. She had been training to be a leader and this was her chance to prove to her mother that she wasn't a failure.

_As long as I don't screw this opportunity up_

_**What did Sarge have to say?**_

_He put me in charge of red squad._

_**How interesting…**_

_What, does that not usually happen around here?_

_**You have been rewarded with a very rare honor. The sergeant does not appoint any cadet's in command unless they have gone above and beyond his expectations. You are, at the top of your class with a 107 percentile average.**_

_Woah, wait a minute…where did you find my grade average? And is it really that high or are you playing with me?_

_**They are logged away in the training files. Your mother was very impressed when she saw your progress chart.**_

_What should I do KITT?_

_**What do you mean?**_

_I mean, what do I need to know before I take charge of red squad? I don't want to screw this up and cause a lot of disappointment and pain again…_

_**Do not be so hard on yourself, Mikah. You are a very intelligent being and you are also, my friend. I'm afraid I can't permit you to be so negative in your thinking.**_

_So what are you going to do to stop me?_

Suddenly and quite out of the blue, Mikah began to hear a very catchy pop tune that she recognized as a techno version of "Simple and Clean". Before long, she found herself singing along until she remembered that this was all KITT's doing in an effort to distract her from being so negative.

_KITT?_

_**Yes Mikah?**_

_Sometimes I hate you…_

Her amusement came through their link with each other and it made KITT smile internally.

_**It's only because you know that I am right.**_

_I know…and thank you._

_**Your welcome, Mikah**_

KRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKR

"Attention, red squad!!"

Her three peers snapped to attention, their faces devoid of any emotion.

"Today we are going to execute order eleven delta red. So grab your gear and meet me on the training deck. Let's move out!!"

No one made a move, which startled Mikah that they weren't following her direct orders.

"Is there a problem squad?"

Jamie stepped forward with a frown.

"Why should we take orders from you?"

"Sarge left me in charge until he returns from some other business."

Sam stepped forward this time, equally displeased.

"You are our equal…not our superior."

"Do you think that you are better than the rest of us, just because you are going to be the AI's new driver?" Jamie looked incredibly angry and it was due in large part to jealousy, Mikah reasoned.

"I suggest that you stand down, soldier. Your insubordination is a fast ticket to a court marshall. Yes, it may be true that I am still your equal but at this time I am most qualified to lead this team. If you have any objections to my leadership I suggest that you take it up with Sarge."

Sam and Jamie stepped back into line and returned to attention, their faces a blank mask.

"Any other objections or shall we continue with our training exercise?"

"Ma'm, no ma'm!"

They gave her a sharp salute before running to grab their gear.

She pulled on her training vest and made sure that her combat boots were firmly laced up before grabbing an M-16. She strapped on her helmet and made sure her safety glasses were secured and then stood at the ready, awaiting the rest of her squad.

It was quiet…too quiet.

Mikah tensed when she heard slow shuffling to her left followed by a brief skid to her right. It was then that she understood what her team was doing. She growled and combat rolled behind a barrier just as the loud popping sounds of guns firing filled the large expanse of the training arena. The black lights were on, bathing the walls and barriers a brilliant white in the dark. Bright neon paint splattered near her and she sighed heavily.

So her three team-mates decided to team up against her, three on one.

_Great…the odds aren't in my favor for once. I was going to have us train two on two but then they decided to pull THIS on me!_

_**Mikah, do you require my assistance?**_

Mikah thought about this a moment as the firing ceased, filling the space with silence again.

_No KITT, I think I'll handle them on my own this time._

_**I will be standing by in the event that you change your mind.**_

Mikah rolled out from her hiding place, bringing her weapon up to bear on the helmeted head of one of her enemies and peppered a few shots in that direction before running behind another wall on the other side of where she had been previously hiding.

She heard swearing and grinned when she realized that she had hit her intended target in the head.

Now there were only two left to contend with.

"Come out, Knight…we have you outnumbered!"

"If you want me…you gotta come and find me!"

She sniggered to herself as she maneuvered around the maze, remaining acutely aware of her surroundings. Mikah knew this training arena like the back of her hand...figuratively speaking. She had to admit that her upgrades thanks to the chip in her brain, really did give her the higher advantage against the odds.

Mikah stopped and crouched low, slowing her breathing and closing her eyes. She listened closely and heard the heavy breathing of her two adversaries circling around the maze.

"_I don't see her anywhere…"_

"_Split up, she's here somewhere…"_

She grinned widely to hear that they were splitting up. She shook her head almost sadly.

Didn't they know that splitting up made it so much easier for her to pick them off one by one?

Apparently, they didn't watch enough movies…

Mikah stood up slowly and kept her back pressed firmly against the wall. She continued to listen intently and counted down in her head as she heard the approaching footsteps getting louder. Slinging the M-16 over one shoulder, she unholstered her pistol and waited patiently.

_3…2…1…_

Right as one of her opponents had walked past her position she crept up until she was directly behind him and grabbed her enemy in a textbook move by bringing one arm up and around his throat. She brought her gun up to the side of his head and whispered in his ear.

"_You're out…"_

He groaned and relaxed in her grip in defeat. She released him and watched him begin to walk away. Believing that he was indeed going to play fair and follow the training rules, turned her back on him. The moment she heard the tell-tale sound of a finger pulling a trigger, she dropped reflexively and rolled from her back onto her stomach in a prone position and fired on her attacker just as paintballs whizzed directly where her head was a few seconds ago.

He howled as her paintballs hit with near perfect accuracy on his thighs and his chest.

"Report to Sarge, cadet…consider yourself officially court-marshalled for treason."

The guy threw his gun down and swore, marching angrily off of the training area.

Now where was the other one—

Paintballs whizzed past her ears and Mikah swore, running for cover but ended up tripping. Her fall miraculously turned into a combat roll accidentally and she found herself crouched behind another wall. She holstered her pistol and reloaded her M-16 once she realized where she was.

_Crap…she drove me into the NEST._

Nest was the name that they gave this part of the training arena. Three different walls that triangulated into a near perfect corner effectively trapped the sorry sap that was forced to hide behind this section for cover.

_**Do you acquire my assistance now?**_

"Give it up, Knight! I've got you pinned down, there is no way out of there!"

_No, KITT…this one is mine._

With a loud yell and a running leap, Mikah slid from behind cover on her side and fired in the direction where Jamie's voice had just originated from and was surprised to see that the girl was completely out in the open. Her shots were true and she splattered Jamie with bright, neon pink paint.

"Game over, ladies"

Mikah squinted when the regular lights turned on and Sarge's voice echoed from the observation tower just above them.

"All cadets report to the briefing room, asap!"

_Holy crap! Sarge was watching us the ENTIRE TIME?!_

_**Yes Mikah, I was under direct orders not to reveal this information.**_

She jogged over to the weapons rack and placed her gun in an empty slot before making her way up the stairs and to the briefing room near the observation tower. She sat down, a little disappointed when her three team-mates refused to look at her. It was a bit disheartening to say the least but Sarge's voice snapped her attention away from them.

"I want everyone to give Knight a round of applause!"

The three clapped slowly with deep frowns, not at all enthusiastic. Sarge's eyes narrowed and he cleared his throat.

"I said give Knight a round of applause!!"

They clapped a little more vigorously and Mikah was hunched over her seat trying to hide her face behind one hand in embarrassment.

"Excellent…now you three can drop down and give me fifty for your insubordinate behavior!!"

The three groaned and dropped down on the ground behind their chairs and did fifty push-ups in sync as a team. Sarge ordered Mikah to stand beside him and watch the other three, much to Mikah's displeasure.

"No, sir. I am still a part of red squad. As a part of their team, I must decline your order."

Mikah then did the unthinkable. She dropped down next to them and began to do push-ups with them, much to their surprise.

"_What do you think you are doing?" Jamie hissed furiously next to her in disbelief._

"_Now that I am no longer in command, I must adhere to the original chain of command. I am part of this team, it states in section two sub-section Gamma that I am to join my squad in whatever activity our superior demands of us."_

Jamie stared at Mikah in absolute shock.

Sarge began to clap.

"Very good, everyone. Stand at attention."

The four stood together as a squad and awaited his further instruction.

"I would hereby like to award Mikah Knight with the honorary graduate certificate."

Sarge stepped forward with a framed certificate in one hand.

"Mikah Knight…you have gone above and beyond anyone's expectations and as your acting superior I hereby grant you the clearance to join the rest of F.L.A.G.'s active duty personnel. You have passed weapon's training 101 and I am pleased to say that I've never been more proud. Congratulations…"

Sarge held out his hand and she shook it with surprise on her face. She grinned as she took the framed certificate and was startled when her three team-mates all congratulated her as well with genuine smiles.

_Oh wow…this is amazing._

_**You did very well Mikah. I am also very proud of you and I am honored to have you as my new driver.**_

With a wide smile, Mikah left the weapons range and wandered the hallways in a daze, the events of everything that had just transpired spinning around in her head.

The intercom system was soon activated and Mikah paused to listen to the announcement. It was her mother and she could tell by the sound of her voice that she had finally done something to make her proud.

**::I would like to congratulate Mikah Knight for her extraordinary performance in basic training and I am pleased to have the sole honor in welcoming her to the team. Excellent job, Mikah.::**

At long last, she finally felt as if she'd done something _right._

TO BE CONTINUED!!

A/N: Next up, Mikah is going to complete hand to hand combat training with Master Chang and then will finally complete code simulations with KITT. Then they may very well be sent on their first mission together. Mike will return to the story soon!


	10. Punks and Apologies

Disclaimer: I do NOT own the sonic drive in fast food franchise OR the Fast and the Furious movies. I just mentioned those.

Author's Note: I am back everyone! Thanks so much for your patience, and I do hope that you are not disappointed with the remaining few chapters of this story. It is nearly finished!

WARNING: there are cuss words in here…just a forewarning. The worst one I think is the B word.

**Chapter 10**

Mikah completed her hand to hand combat training with flying colors and finally mastered the code book after another long two months of studying.

She had KITT to thank for his ever faithful encouragement and endearing support. The teen honestly didn't think she would have been able to face her martial arts instructor again without him. He was one tough cookie… and she had the bumps and bruises to prove it.

Now she had her first mission to look forward to. Of course…that could come later. Right now she was enjoying some much earned rest and relaxation with her best buddy.

"Finally"

Mikah sighed with contentment as she bit into a juicy cheeseburger. They were currently parked at a sonic drive-in restaurant, just off of the freeway. This was the first thing she had down on her to-do list as soon as she was free from the F.L.A.G. headquarters.

"I have waited so long for this moment, KITT."

_Six months, two days, five hours, and thirty three minutes to be exact._

Mikah smiled before shoving some French fries into her mouth.

"Mmm…neffer…tashted..sho good…"

The teenager spoke around a mouthful of food, as the fresh hot taste of salted fries hit her taste buds.

Her peaceful moment in fast food heaven was rudely shattered by the loud roar of a sports car, that looked like it rolled right off of _The Fast and the Furious_ DVD cover. The car was blaring loud rap music as it pulled into the empty spot beside her on her left. It was full of a broad assortment of some teenage boys fresh out of high school, it looked like.

Mikah did her best to ignore them and continued to mind her own business by finishing off her burger and then worked on the remaining few fries in the bag. She was interrupted, however, when the gang leader and apparent owner of the car stepped up to her driver's side window with an arrogant grin on his tanned face. The way he spoke suggested that he might have some sort of latino ancestry. He could have been considered kind of cute if it wasn't for his outrageous apparel that clearly screamed, "COME ARREST ME!"

"Hey little lady…you mind moving your car for us? You're in our spot."

Mikah smiled with mock sweetness at him and her voice mirrored his attitude.

"Why, I don't see your name on this spot, amigo. So the answer to your question is, NO."

Mikah then ignored him entirely, catching a glimpse of the enraged expression crossing the kid's face out of the corner of her eye as she finished up the last of her fries. The boy had tattoos adorning his arms, one of a snake on his left and a skull with crossbones on his right. How cheerful.

His hair was also spiked and he had a nose ring. He was wearing what used to be a black dress shirt but that had the sleeves ripped off, giving it a sort of ragged tank top kind of look with a shirt pocket.

She heard KITT's voice in her head then. She was thankful she had gotten used to hearing him because otherwise chances were good that she would have just spilled her coke all over herself and his interior in surprise.

_**Mikah, after running facial recognition software on your antagonist, files indicate that he was recently released from a juvenile detention facility for violent behavior resulting in the near death of one of his classmates and his teacher**_

_I almost hope he tries something, just so I can kick his ass! The low life scum…_

The punk leaned forward, resting his arms on the window ledge and peered in at Mikah with a leer on his face.

"Hey babe…if you don't move your car right now…you might just get hurt."

"If you don't get out of my face, you are the one who will be hurt."

He laughed loudly at her feisty remark and turned around to regard his friends a moment.

"Who let this cat off her leash?"

They laughed in response at the joke and he turned back around to face her, his eyes going dark.

"I bet you're just all sass and no fight. Move your car, cause I aint gonna ask nicely again."

Mikah turned her head slowly to regard him, trying to maintain self-control at his remark. She grinned sweetly at him as she replied casually as if they were simply talking about the weather rather than trading insults.

"I have a better idea for you, buttercup…"

Mikah reached down to where a compartment was hidden just beneath Kitt's steering wheel and she pulled out a few complimentary items and threw them in his face. She even had the audacity to stick one of the offending objects into his shirt pocket. She then slurped the rest of her coke down and blinked innocently at him.

"I would be happy to finish this conversation with you, once you stop p.m.s'ing and change your tampon. No one likes a bitch."

The guy had taken a step back once she had assaulted him with the objects and stood rooted to the ground in complete and total shock, unable to believe that this girl just owned him like this! In front of his friends no less! The other punk kids behind him were laughing hysterically and taunting him about how a girl put him in his place.

He leaned forward with gritted teeth, feeling the need to strangle the girl in front of him with his bare hands but refrained when a cop pulled in across the parking lot to get some lunch. The punk growled low so that only Mikah could hear him.

"No one does somethin' like that to me, and LIVES to talk about it! You got a big mouth, little girl…I'd like to see you in a real fight. Or better yet…without any clothes on"

Mikah snarled at the boy then, preparing to punch him in the face but restrained when KITT shouted a mental warning about the police cruiser she hadn't seen yet parked across the way.

She forced down her anger and then sneered at him.

"And I would love to see a pervert like you behind bars…but I'm sure that day isn't too far off in your not-so-distant-future."

The guy's eyes darkened and his jaw was clenched as he did his best to reign in his temper. There was no sense to be hitting this broad with the fuzz parked right across the way. He ground out his words through gritted teeth.

"I bet that _piece of shit_ you call a car, can't beat mine in a race."

Mikah's eyes flashed dangerously in silent warning and she could feel KITT stealthily activating the restraining system to hold her back, most likely sensing the tension rippling through her muscular system, begging her to leap out of the car and beat the boy senseless for calling her friend such a degrading thing.

_He is so lucky that my car is holding me back right now…or I would kill him._

_**Then I am relieved to know that my actions were beneficial to both parties involved.**_

"I would love to see the day when you can back those words up."

"Then let's go"

Mikah ignored his goading and remained business-like.

"No fights, no weapons…just a race out on that abandoned interstate."

The teen smirked but nodded his head slowly as if he would really obey those rules.

"If I win, you do whatever it is I tell you to do," the kid's eyes were lit with dark amusement and a sick desire.

Mikah's expression darkened then and she growled.

"And if I win?"

The teen shrugged and laughed.

"You won't, babe. You won't."

The arrogant punk began to swagger his way back towards his friends, throwing the tampons down onto the ground next to her car. She called out to him, forcing him to turn around and acknowledge her again.

"If _**I**_ win…you do whatever _**I**_ tell you to do!"

He laughed as if he heard a good joke, shaking his head.

"Keep dreaming, baby…cause that day is never coming!"

Mikah shook her head with disgust and rolled up her windows, the tinted glass shielding her from their view and giving her more privacy with KITT.

"I can't believe that, _**jerk.**_"

_I can._

"We are going to smoke that creep."

_You really intend to race him on the abandoned interstate?_

"Yes, KITT…I do. I need you to make sure no police are in the vicinity when we race, can you do that for me?"

_Of course. However, I feel it necessary to point out that Sarah will not be pleased when she hears this report._

"You're going to snitch on me?"

_No. As a new agent of the FLAG team, you are required to document every event such as this one for our records._

"KITT, we are OFF-duty! We aren't required to send in reports when we are off-duty unless it's a matter of national security!"

_You forget that the first two weeks we are required to write detailed reports whether we are on or off-duty to get a better handle on the FLAG operating system._

"Crap…so in other words, I'm going to have to write about our entire day just because FLAG wants me to get into the habit of writing reports?"

_Unfortunately for you, yes._

Mikah resisted the urge to bang her head repeatedly against the steering wheel in frustration and instead released a heavy sigh.

"Well, that punk started it! And now we are going to go and FINISH it. No one calls you a piece of shit and gets away with it…"

_I appreciate your loyalty to me Mikah but I believe I am more than capable of handling a few petty insults myself._

Mikah glanced down at the blue globe on the dashboard and grinned.

"I'm sure you can. This is just a benefit that comes with a friendship package, we defend each other."

_I have a confession to make._

Mikah gave him a confused look.

"What about"

_I had a slight malfunction in my processing centers. I contemplated running him over when he revealed what the "winning terms" of the race entailed. I think I felt…angry._

Mikah's confusion was replaced with laughter at KITT's innocent and rather embarrassed sounding confession. So KITT did care about her…how sweet. She was pretty sure her dad would have felt like doing the same thing if he was here. Mikah knew without a doubt that KITT would never run anyone over intentionally, he was too logical to rashly allow any feelings he might have to cloud his judgment. That was what was so great about their relationship. Mikah had the short fuse and was never afraid to stand down from a fight and KITT was the calm, logical one who helped her see reason and reminded her to _think_ before she acted. They complimented each other nicely in that regard.

The cop soon pulled out and left the sonic once his food had been delivered to him, leaving Mikah and the car next to them. The punks pulled out first, hooting and hollering in her direction, some even giving her catcalls. KITT pulled out second and followed them out to where they were to have their race.

When they got to the deserted strip of highway that was never used and KITT gave Mikah the all clear concerning the cops, the two cars pulled side by side. One of the creep's guys was going to give them the signal to start while two of the others were waiting to see who would be the first to the finish line, 15 miles away near the county border.

Mikah revved KITT's engine in anticipation, sparing a glance over at her rival to meet his cocky expression. The stupid kid actually thought he was going to win?

She barely had time to think on that since they were given the signal to go.

KITT's wheels spun and he burned rubber in a matter of seconds, gaining speed at an impressive rate. Unfortunately, their rival was keeping up with them. Mikah growled and floored it, dodging a rather large pothole in the middle of her lane and nearly went off the road. KITT helped her keep control and made the correction himself.

"What are the specs on that guy's car? How is he keeping up with us?"

As if in answer to her question the youth flashed her, a huge, mocking grin and hit a button on his steering wheel, boosting his speed.

"No…freaking way. Did he seriously modify his car with a boosting system? What a _Fast and the_ _Furious_ RIP OFF ARTIST!"

_Mikah if my calculations are correct, if we do not boost our speed now, we will miss the opportunity to overcome his vehicle and win the race._

"Transform and turbo boost like Michael did against the guy in the red lamborgini?"

_I have something better in mind._

If Mikah felt confident about her knowledge on KITT's design and every little detail concerning his systems…then she felt incredibly ignorant now as she witnessed something amazing.

KITT's steering wheel transformed as did the speedometer gauges on his dashboard. It now looked more like a street racing wheel with glowing buttons. One of them was lit with the word "Nitro" directly beneath it.

"When was anyone going to tell me about _**this**_?"

_It was newly installed a few days ago. Sarah felt it would be wise to avoid transforming in the middle of a race and instead gave me this alternative for turbo boosting. The nitro system simply allows for added speed. There is no need to turbo boost when there are no obstacles hindering our path._

"Good enough for me"

Mikah hit the button, feeling the G-forces pushing her back against the seat, the world outside blending together in a blur of lines as they went over 200 miles per hour. The finish line was nearing and they had finally caught up with and passed their opponent whose boost had depleted seconds before. That was all that they needed to pass the finish line, half a car length in front of the jerk.

KITT deployed the braking systems and then turned back around so Mikah could confront her adversary with her winning terms.

"Time to make him run home crying to mommy"

_What do you have in mind?_

"You'll see. Follow my lead…"

Mikah couldn't keep the smirk off of her face now that she had the chance to defend her honor and KITT's reputation.

She got out of the car with confidence and stood leaning against KITT after shutting the driver's side door. The guy climbed slowly out of his car in disbelief, unable to accept that he had been beaten by this girl. He glowered solemnly and refused to take a step closer to her.

"So what do I have to do?"

Mikah grinned widely at this not batting an eye.

"Apologize"

He glanced back at his two friends who had been at the finish line with confusion.

"Apologize for w_hat?_ As far as I'm concerned…YOU owe ME an apology. First you take my parking spot, then you disrespect me in front of my posse, and then you smoke me in a race."

Mikah shook her head, her expression and her demeanor finally becoming more mature and serious.

"You have it all wrong, buddy. First of all, we have established that your name was never on that spot and I was there before you ever pulled in. Secondly, I disrespected you because you never earned my respect…trash talking women will NEVER earn you respect. And thirdly, I beat you fair and square. You used one boost and so did I. If I had cheated and used two…then maybe that would have been unfair. It was all about timing…and you jumped the gun…your fault, not mine."

He glared at her, most likely stewing with the knowledge that she was right and he was wrong. He didn't look like the type that accepted "No" for an answer or that leniently allowed people to put him in his place.

This could be interesting.

"So if I apologize…I'm free to go?"

"You actually owe me TWO apologies but I'm waiting on the first one."

"And if I don't?"

Mikah shrugged casually, feeling a sense of glee when her next response evoked a priceless expression off the kid.

"I might just have to flash you my undercover police badge and haul you in for street racing."

He fidgeted uncomfortably at her rather bold declaration, his expression betraying the doubt he was feeling.

"You're bluffing…"

"Am I? Look, kid, don't make this harder than it has to be. You should be thankful I'm letting you off the hook this easily. All I'm asking for is an apology. Refuse and I'm booking you in the downtown jail, your choice."

He looked incredibly nervous now, so nervous that Mikah could detect small traces of sweat glistening on his skin from where he stood a few yards away.

He finally nodded his head, gulping with apprehension and building up the courage to spit out an apology that his lips hadn't uttered for years.

"I'm sorry."

Mikah tilted her head to the side, appearing to consider whether or not the apology was acceptable or not.

"I'm just not buying the sincerity…just how badly, do you want to keep your miserable little hide out of jail? Say, 'I'm sorry for disrespecting you, Detective Jones'."

His eyes were filled with panic now as he was placed again in the spotlight.

"I'm sorry for disrespecting you, Detective Jones."

Mikah shook her head and gave a disgusted laugh and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Disappointing…you sound like you just repeated it because I TOLD you to! Now you get **one **last try to sincerely convince me that you are sorry or I'm taking your ass to prison! You better make this one count, now make me believe it."

Mikah's narrow-eyed glare had the boy shaking where he stood and his face turned two shades of pale. He looked like he was about to burst into tears. Then did exactly as she asked, much to her surprise…

He took a few steps closer so that they were only a few feet away and dropped to his knees, folding his hands together as if he was praying and looked up at her with pleading eyes, begging her silently to accept his apology.

"Please…please forgive me and I'm sorry for disrespecting you, Detective Jones!"

Mikah made him sweat a little bit by giving the impression that she was mulling it over, giving him the possibility that his apology still wasn't good enough before finally relenting and nodded her head in acceptance.

"Apology accepted. Now you must do one more thing before I let you leave."

"Yes?"

Wow…he actually sounded like he was willing to answer to her every beck and call now. Mikah loved her job.

"Apologize…to my car."

"w-what?"

"You heard me. Apologize to my car. You called him a piece of shit."

The kid stood up, looking insulted.

"Come on, it's just a car!"

"His name is KITT and he is my very good friend. Now say sorry!"

He rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath about how crazy the lady was and turned to face the black mustang and uttered a quick apology.

"I'm sorry KITT."

_**I don't think he meant it.**_

"There, you happy now, lady? I just apologized to an inanimate object with no feeli-…wait a minute…"

He turned back around to gawk at the car in astonishment, unsure if he had been imagining things or not.

"…with no feelings…"

He finished lamely and stared at the car again as if expecting a reply.

Mikah sighed and shook her head as if in pity for him.

"You just made your apology a lot longer pal. Apologize to KITT like you apologized to me, or no deal."

The boy looked at her with a disbelieving expression but the fire in her eyes prompted him to obey, after all, if this is what it would take to keep him out of the county jail then so be it.

"Fine…"

He dropped to his knees in front of the car and looked miserable.

"I'm sorry KITT for calling you a piece of shit…and for saying you have no feelings."

_**Apology accepted, thank you.**_

His eyes bugged out and he leapt to his feet, scrambling away from the car.

"No way, the car just talked. IT TALKED!"

"That would be a HE not an IT!"

The kid ran back to his car, his friends diving in with him as KITT rolled forward by himself, revealing his bright red scanner on the front of his grill. They peeled rubber and left screaming their heads off about a possessed car and an alien abduction conspiracy theory.

Mikah chuckled tiredly once they vanished from sight and climbed back into KITT, suddenly feeling worn out after that experience.

"Let's go back to base"

_We should arrive back at FLAG headquarters in approximately twenty five minutes and twenty one seconds._

"Fine"

_Perhaps you should begin your report of today's events?_

Mikah stifled a yawn and leaned back into the driver's seat, giving KITT full control of driving as she attempted to get more comfortable.

"It can wait…"

_Rest well, Mikah._

KITT smiled internally when he realized she hadn't heard his response.

She was already asleep.

TO BE CONTINUED!

Author's Note: Thanks again for your patience you guys! Please leave me a review so I know what I need to improve on so I can continue with it!


	11. Hostage Exchange

Author's Note: Thanks to all of my awesome reviewers out there! KITT thanks all of you for your loyalty and patience with the progress of this story. Also, I need to clarify who is speaking with the italics.

Whenenever **_speech is bolded like this_** its KARR speaking out loud...or KITT speaking to Mikah through their mind link thing. I'm sure you will be able to tell which AI is speaking based upon the dialogue and vastly different personalities of the AI's lol. Regular _Italics like this_ is KITT speaking out loud to Mikah since his voice tends to be softer and less demanding than KARR's. It is also Mikah speaking to KITT through their mental link. As confusing as all that just sounded, I really hope it made sense!

**Chapter 11**

When Mikah finally wrote the report and turned it in, she grinned sheepishly at the expression that crossed her mother's face as she skimmed over it with astonishment.

"You got into a street race with some kid who harassed you at a fast food restaurant?"

Mikah shrugged innocently in response. Sarah kept reading but then her eyes narrowed and she turned a stern expression on her daughter.

"Now Mikah, it's fine and dandy that you and KITT taught that boy some manners while on your off-duty time. What isn't acceptable is that you blew KITT's cover."

Mikah resisted the urge to roll her eyes in aggravation.

"They ran away screaming their heads off about a possessed car and alien abduction conspiracies! You really think anyone with half a brain will believe what they say?"

"That isn't the point I'm trying to make here, Mikah. You both need to be more careful, especially since KARR is still MIA!"

The teen sighed heavily and fidgeted under the intense scrutiny of her mother.

"I guess we both forgot about that."

Sarah shook her head with a disappointed frown.

"Mistakes like this could cost you your life someday if you aren't careful, Mikah. I'm sorry if I sound harsh but it's because I love you."

The woman got up from behind her desk after laying the report flat on the table top and walked around so that she could embrace her child.

"I worry about you…every time you leave the complex. You know that right?"

Mikah pulled away to see tears glimmering in her mother's eyes.

"I don't want to lose you again," Sarah whispered softly, wiping her eyes before the tears could fall.

It surprised her to see this sudden display of emotion and compassion. She had gotten so used to Sarah's gruff attitude and harsh demeanor towards her that for a while she forgot the woman was her mother. For a time, all she had been was her boss. Mikah didn't like to admit it…but sometimes Sarah still seemed like a stranger to her. How well did she know this woman? It made her feel guilty sometimes. Here was this lady who loved her since birth and all the years that she had grown up with another family and Mikah still wasn't sure if she felt even an ounce of love for her in return. It made her heart ache at the realization and made her feel like a bad person.

"I don't mean to make you worry and I'm sorry that I do."

Sarah smiled at her, for the first time in months.

"It's a mother's habit."

Mikah allowed herself a small smile in return and nodded in understanding.

"I guess so. You don't have to worry so much though…KITT is a great guardian and an even better friend."

Sarah chuckled at this statement, her smile widening.

"I know he is. I know you are in excellent care whenever you are with him, that's the _only_ reason I allowed you to take your father's place as his driver. KITT is extremely loyal."

"Yeah, he really is."

Sarah's eyes took on a faraway look as she looked her daughter over a moment.

"You remind me so much of your father…"

Mikah grinned at this, taking it as a high compliment.

"Really?"

Sarah seemed to snap out of her reminiscence and she regarded Mikah with a serious expression.

"Yes, you do."

Sarah walked back around to take her seat back at her desk, her next comment throwing Mikah off.

"And that's what frightens me"

Mikah frowned at this with a completely bewildered look.

"Why?"

Sarah looked up at her after setting the report she had been reading back down again.

"Mike always got himself into trouble. Sometimes more than he could handle. KITT saved his life many times, thankfully. Just…promise me you and KITT will be careful out there from now on?"

Mikah nodded her head quickly, accepting this.

"Of course we will. Thanks, mom"

Sarah smiled warmly when she heard the word, her eyes suddenly lighting up with affection.

"Be safe"

Mikah left the room then and headed out to where KITT was docked.

The AI opened the door for her and she climbed in and shut the door closed behind her. She remained silent, staring absentmindedly at his steering wheel. They both sat in silence for a few minutes until the silence was finally broken by a soft, concerned sounding voice.

_Are you okay, Mikah?_

She turned to regard him a moment, her face betraying the fact that she was still deep in thought.

"Not really."

_What's wrong?_

She remained silent again as if she was searching for the answer.

"Do you think I'm a bad daughter…if I can't feel love for the woman who gave birth to me?"

Now it was KITT's turn to brood in silence as he contemplated a response to her rather deep question.

_How do you define love, Mikah?_

The teen looked down at his blue voice modulator in surprise.

"I suppose it's caring deeply for someone to the point that you would sacrifice your own life to save theirs. I see love as unconditional…like it says in the bible. Love is not proud, love does not boast, love knows no record of wrongs, etc."

Mikah made a few hand gestures as she was naming them off one by one but lost her animation when that same concentrated expression crossed her features again.

_Would you protect Sarah if someone tried to cause her harm?_

"Of course I would!"

_And why would you do that?_

"I care about her to the point that I don't want to even _think_ about anyone hurting her."

_Would you willingly sacrifice yourself to save Sarah's life?_

Mikah hesitated in responding to that one. After a couple minutes of agonizing silence, she replied carefully.

"Yes, I would."

_Then according to your definition…does this not mean that you love her to some degree?_

Leave it to KITT to be the completely logical and analytical one.

Mikah regarded him with an almost sad smile.

"I guess so. It's just hard…because sometimes, I just don't feel it in here," Mikah was tapping her chest over where her heart was.

_Perhaps you can't always feel love...but just because you can't feel it, doesn't mean that its still not there._

Mikah was staring at him in complete awe.

"KITT…that was amazing…where are you coming up with this stuff?"

Before she had a chance to hear his response, a red warning klaxon filled the air around them. All of the screens in the main hangar were flashing with red words that sent a cold chill down Mikah's spine.

_**WARNING! SECURITY BREACH!**_

Technicians were already scrambling to pin-point the source of the intrusion. Billy shouted something nearby that Mikah heard clearly above all the chaos thanks to her advanced hearing abilities with the chip in her brain.

"MIKE IS GONE! He is no longer in the Cryo-containment room, his pod is EMPTY!"

Mikah's blood froze in her veins as those words nailed her in the heart. She stared at the security monitors and saw that two security guards were dragging a near unconscious Mike through the hallways and towards an escape hatch that led to the surface.

"Someone is kidnapping Mike!"

Mikah swore and jumped into KITT, feeling the adrenaline flooding through her system.

"KITT, activate the elevator and get us up to the surface!"

KITT did as she requested, hacking into the base's terminals and bypassed the advanced encryption locks that only activated when there was a security breach that locked down the entire complex. Somehow those security guards knew their way around the system too, hence their rather ingenious kidnapping strategy.

Mikah gripped the wheel feeling her heart fluttering with dread and anticipation. Whoever was kidnapping her father wasn't going to get very far!

As soon as they reached the surface, KITT's scanners worked overtime to try and locate the weak signal that Mike was emitting from his GPS implant. Without any delay, KITT sped off in the direction it was coming from, just as determined to get to him as Mikah was. They soon caught up to a fleeing vehicle that looked like a government issued SUV.

"Deploy EMP blast and take their engines out."

_EMP deployed._

A shockwave rippled out and overtook the vehicle but it showed no signs of slowing down.

"Why didn't that EMP work, KITT?"

_They appear to have an EMP shielding device installed._

"Then fire the grappling hook at their bumper!"

KITT did as ordered but only succeeded in completely ripping the kidnapper's rear bumper off.

Mikah wracked her brain for a solution and then got a brilliant idea.

"Let them go, KITT…I have a plan."

KITT slowed down marginally to hear it.

"Activate camouflage and dampening field. Pursue them…we are going to find their hideout."

KITT did as instructed, his paint transforming into the desert around him, making him appear virtually invisible to the vehicle ahead of them. His dampening field also made it near impossible for any radar or scanning systems to detect his advanced equipment or energy output, also adding to their cloaking strategy.

After three and a half hours of pursuit, Mikah finally asked the question that had been plaguing her mind for the past hour.

"Where in the world are they even going?"

Another half an hour of chasing them through a city, and they finally got their answer.

_Mikah, my sensors are detecting an anomaly up ahead. I believe we are about to arrive at our destination._

They were in an old industrial part of the city, abandoned and left to rust and decay. Mikah gasped when she saw the SUV drive straight through what appeared to be a _solid brick wall_!

"KITT…what just happened?"

The mustang crept forward, cautiously, unsure of what awaited them on the other side.

_The brick wall is merely a holographic projection._

They finally drove through, KITT running on complete stealth mode. They crept closer inch by inch until a large hangar brightly lit and surrounded by a ton of lab equipment loomed ominously into view. The SUV rolled to a stop and two men still wearing the FLAG security guard uniforms got out of the vehicle. One of them shouted, his voice echoing in the large expanse around them.

"HEY BOSS! We brought him!"

Mikah's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates when their boss loomed menacingly into view.

"No freaking way..."

KITT growled out the hated name of his arch-nemesis with clear disdain.

_KARR_

The said being, walked forward and ripped the roof off of the SUV, revealing the trembling form of Michael Knight who appeared to still be part-way in a coma, his eyes were rolled up in the back of his head and he was unresponsive.

Luckily for KITT and Mikah, after their last encounter with the evil AI, Sarah's team finally came up with the newest shielding technology that hid KITT from KARR's detection systems. Their enemy was completely oblivious to the fact that they were currently parked on the other side of the hangar observing him.

KARR plucked the semi-conscious man out with surprising tenderness and cradled the human male in his hand and appeared to be studying him with intense scrutiny.

_**Michael Knight's life now hangs in the balance. He must be saved.**_

The robotic AI walked around a large barrier and disappeared behind a large tarp, shielding them from everyone's view.

Mikah snarled angrily, preparing to jump out of the car.

"That son of a bitch isn't going to hurt my dad again, I swear on my life!"

KITT kept her locked in much to her indignation.

"KITT LET ME OUT!"

_Negative…according to the floor vibrations…KARR is returning._

Sure enough, just as KITT predicted, KARR came back to face the two men standing there next to the SUV.

One of them looked incredibly confident while the other appeared to be extremely distrustful of the large AI.

"Alright…we did what you asked us to. Now where's our money?"

The AI regarded them both for a moment before laughing wickedly, his arm soon transforming into a huge gun. It appeared that their enemy received recent upgrades himself…

_**Right HERE!**_

The two men screamed shrilly and twisted, trying to run away in a panic. Mikah couldn't peel her eyes away from the horrific scene as she watched a missile strike the SUV beside the men, the vehicle exploding and completely disintegrating the two guys in a large fireball.

KARR surveyed the area again and then marched away, leaving the burning remains of the vehicle where it was. They both sat in stunned silence, Mikah suddenly feeling nauseous.

"He just…they just…"

_I know, Mikah._

KITT's soothing voice appeared to impact her greatly as her frightened expression soon turned into firm resolve.

"We are going to save my dad. And that evil creep is never going to hurt any of us again!"

_Do we have a plan?_

Mikah looked back at him with a silly grin.

"I thought that this time around, we could just wing it."

_Wing it?_

"You know…improvise as we go along."

_That is unwise. KARR is not to be underestimated._

"Fine, you want a plan? Here's the plan. I creep over there and try to see what he's doing to my dad…"

_That will not work, Mikah. His advanced sensors will detect you the moment you step out of my interior._

"Then what do we do?"

KITT remained quiet for a second, knowing without a doubt that she was not going to like what he was going to say.

_We need backup. We cannot engage KARR on our own. _

"No one can engage KARR while he has a freaking hostage in the way!"

_Do you have a proposition?_

Neither of them got to finish the conversation when they heard the angry roar of KARR's voice capacitor screaming in rage.

_**I SENSE YOU KITT! AND I WILL DESTROY YOU!**_

To their horror, KARR appeared in view and aimed his missile launcher at the two of them.

"I thought we were cloaked!"

KITT wasted no time in reversing and sped clear out, back through the holographic wall that was hiding KARR's secret lair from prying eyes.

_It is apparent that he has modified his detection systems…again._

Mikah screamed in frustration as they were forced to flee from the area, KARR's missiles chasing them as they used every evasive maneuver in the book to keep from getting hit. Soon, the explosions tapered off as they got farther away and KITT continued his course and rate of speed, heading back to FLAG headquarters.

Mikah was frustrated beyond all belief.

"We were so close KITT…SO CLOSE to rescuing my dad! We have to go back!"

_Orders dictate that we are to return to headquarters and regroup before attempting a second rescue attempt if the first fails._

"I know the stupid orders KITT…but for once, why can't we just throw the rule book out the window?"

_I understand your frustration Mikah. I want to rescue Michael as badly as you do. If we are to be successful in rescuing him we need to consider our every option and re-evaluate the situation._

Mikah slouched against the seat in complete and utter misery.

"I wish there was something we could do."

_We can._

"And what is that?"

KITT said the one word she thought she would never hear from the AI in her life.

_Pray._

* * *

KARR regarded the man before him and began the procedure that would save his former driver's life.

It was not because the mechanical monstrosity felt any sense of remorse, compassion, or pity.

Repairing Michael Knight and reversing the debilitating and life-threatening condition caused by his own robotic systems and the integration process posed a future problem for KARR. The man was going to serve his purpose as a guinea pig more or less. If the procedure worked then KARR knew his future would finally be secure.

He was well aware of the man's fiery spirit and stubborn strength of will when it came to resisting the merging process. That, along with the disgusting devotion Michael developed for KITT rather than him, made his former driver obsolete. He could not forget the thrill that raced through his systems the day he had successfully integrated Mikah Knight into his core programming. He knew the girl still possessed that deep, dark desire for unlimited power. And KARR was going to make sure that KITT, that sentimental fool, was second best next to him.

After rendering the man unconscious by a strong sedative, KARR injected the serum he had been working on for half a year now and monitored Michael's progress.

_**Soon…I will be one with my driver and no one will stop me!**_

* * *

They both remained silent the rest of the ride back to base. Once they arrived, Sarah's grave expression alerted them both to more bad news. Mikah got reluctantly out of KITT and prepared to defend herself from the onslaught of verbal abuse inspired by motherly-love but didn't have to.

"We monitored your progress and captured all the live feed from KITT's onboard cameras so we know you encountered KARR and that he has Mike. There is a new problem…"

"What problem?"

Sarah's eyes darkened and her lips were pressed together in a grim line.

"KARR wishes to speak to you, Mikah."

The teen followed her mother's gaze up to one of the largest screens in the base above all the others. It was nearly the size of an indoor movie theatre screen.

KARR soon appeared on the video monitor and he spoke directly to Mikah with a near purr in his voice.

_**It is good to see my driver unharmed…**_

Mikah glared defiantly at him and huffed with her arms crossed stubbornly over her chest.

"I'm KITT's driver, not yours. And if I didn't know any better…I thought you were trying to pulverize me back there!"

_**You are my driver Mikah Knight. It is your destiny to join me. The attack was necessary. KITT would not have fled otherwise and I am well aware of his evasive sub-routines...they are similar to my own. You were in no real danger.**_

Mikah rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Just get to the point already. What do you want?"

KARR met her gaze evenly.

_**An exchange is all I require.**_

This had Mikah incredibly curious now. Since when did KARR ever bargain?

"What exchange?"

That was when KARR lifted up his hand to reveal Michael Knight, his mouth duct taped and his hands tied behind his back. That was not what elicited a shocked gasp throughout the room however…it was one major thing.

There was no sign whatsoever of his cryo-sickness or the KARR inflicted bio-degradation. Mike looked completely healed…

_**I have reversed the damage. Michael Knight is operating at 100 percent efficiency. **_

Billy and Zoe both turned simultaneously to look at a stunned Sarah.

"He's telling the truth…we just got an uploaded file from him. It's got the chemistry and the formula for the cure."

Sarah ran over to study the information. She gasped as her eyes read completely over it, three times to make sure her eyes weren't deceiving her. Somehow KARR had found the missing element to the formula her team had been working on for years now. According to the data she was staring at, KARR not only found the missing piece to the puzzle…he had _perfected_ it.

Her husband…was finally free again, to live a normal happy life with them. That was when her perfect picture was completely shattered by his next words.

_**The exchange will take place four hours from now. **_

"What do you want in exchange for Michael?"

_**I want Mikah Knight.**_

A loud chorus of protests erupted throughout the room, most of them coming from Sarah, Billy, and Zoe. Everyone caught a last glimpse of Michael Knight shaking his head furiously "NO" while his eyes seemed to pierce through Mikah, tears glistening in his eyes, pleading and begging her not to do it. The man was lowered out of view then so that Mikah was forced to stare KARR down again.

_**If you do not come alone Mikah Knight…I will kill him.**_

The room went deathly silent. Everyone knew without a doubt, that KARR was going to be true to his word and that he never made empty threats.

All eyes turned to look at Mikah, awaiting her decision.

"How do we know that you won't simply kill my father once I get there?"

_**You have my word that he will not be harmed. He is free to go once I have you.**_

After a long minute of excruciating silence and uncertainty, Mikah finally relented.

"I will take my father's place and come alone on one condition."

_**And that is?**_

Mikah didn't even bat an eye with her demand.

"You allow my father to return to FLAG headquarters with KITT as his escort."

_**Condition is denied. I calculate a 98.9 percent chance of betrayal and susceptible attack. Come alone or Michael dies.**_

The communication was then terminated, leaving no room for further argument. Mikah leaned heavily against KITT's exterior, unable to believe the trouble she was in now. The room exploded once more into a flury of action but the sounds of chaotic technicians shouting barely discernable sentences was drowned out by the pounding of her own heart in her ears.

_You must not go, Mikah. You know what KARR intends to do._

Mikah turned to regard KITT with a far off expression that testified to the shock she was in.

"I know, KITT. But that's my dad out there…he would do the same for me. I have to go."

Mikah did everything she could to drown out KITT's protests and even shrugged off her mother's restraining hands and marched towards the exit elevator with determination blazing in her eyes. A few security guards came at her, to prevent her from leaving the complex, the distant sound of her mother shouting orders falling on Mikah's deaf ears. With her advanced hand-to-hand combat training, she easily dispatched the two guards and turned to kick a third in the chest that had tried to sneak up on her from behind. Then with a sad, grim expression, Mikah shook her head slowly as she stared at her mother, conveying everything she wanted to say but couldn't over all the noise.

Sarah paused and looked at her, suddenly recognizing that look on her daughter's face. It was the same apologetic look Mike had on his face whenever he disobeyed orders intentionally or begged her silently not to follow him and to let him go…

It was in that moment that she knew she could not stop her daughter from doing this. She had that same stubborn and determined spirit that her father did. Trying to stop either of them was like trying to stop the sun from rising.

With a barely discernable nod, Sarah gave her daughter the go-ahead and then turned around, shouting for the security team to stand down.

Mikah turned around and ran.

Her first mission had just begun…

TO BE CONTINUED!

Author's Note: Thanks again for the reviews! Please leave me some more so I can keep going with this. Your encouragement does make this story possible whenever you inspire the author. ;)

I'm sorry if I wrote KARR and KITT's character oddly. To be truthful, I haven't seen any of the KR 2008 episodes since early last year so it's hard for me to remember specifics. The way I figure it, both AI's have had enough time to develop and 'evolve' their personalities so that KARR has become less of a dependent child and more of an intelligent, deadly, evil mastermind...while KITT has become more in tune with 'feelings' and has learned vast amounts from his human allies. I might watch some episodes before writing the next chapter... please let me know if I have their characters down or if I need to tweak them? Thanks!


	12. Taken

Author's Note: Thanks so much for the great reviews! And in response to one of my reviewers…yes, Mikah is obviously a daddy's girl, lol. Also, this chapter was originally longer so I divided it into two chapters since I won't be able to write more for a while since I'm beginning my third shift doing night security. When I have days off I'm sure I will get back to it!

**Chapter 12**

To say that Mikah wasn't frightened, would be the understatement of the century.

She was currently fifteen minutes away from her destination, a meeting place that KARR had uploaded directly to her cell phone via text message. She honestly didn't know if anyone from FLAG had seen this information yet…chances were good that Billy had already hacked into her cell phone to monitor any communications she sent or received after leaving the base.

That was all irrelevant right now.

Mikah inhaled deeply and then exhaled slowly, trying to calm her racing heart. If she gripped the steering wheel of the undercover FLAG sedan any harder, finger indents were going to become a new feature to the rather basic vehicle. The most advanced piece of equipment she had in here was a GPS system…one that KARR instructed her to dismantle. He left her with the warning that her father would be terminated immediately in front of her eyes if he detected the GPS functioning upon her arrival. He also commanded her to toss her cell phone out of the window, eliminating any chances of the FLAG team tracking her phone with a satellite.

She had no choice but to do as instructed. So how, was the FLAG team going to find her?

_**I wish you would stop doing that.**_

Mikah nearly crashed into a street lamp when the unexpected sound of KITT's voice filled her mind as if he was speaking right next to her.

_KITT! Thank God, it's you._

_**In your emotional distress, your communications block dropped. Please, don't do that anymore.**_

_You mean my communications block or the emotional distress?_

Mikah made a half-hearted joke of it, trying her best to calm her jittery nerves when the time estimation of her arrival to her destination counted down to the five minute do-or-die boundary.

_**It is imperative that you keep our communications link open, so that we have a clear signal on your implant.**_

That was when Mikah felt her cheeks reddening. She felt like such an idiot now, for freaking out and wondering how in the hell everyone was going to be able to track her progress without a GPS system or cell phone…only to have forgotten one very important detail. She had a GPS system _in her brain_!

_I am such an idiot for forgetting all about that. KARR made me dismantle the GPS from the company car and my phone is lost somewhere out in the desert._

_**I know. Which is why, I'm thankful for your emotional instability at the moment.**_

_Gee, thanks for the support buddy._

_**Mikah, it might be some time before I can reach you. I am lagging behind at least two hours and I only have one nitro boost left.**_

_Don't use the boost to get here faster…we might need that later for an escape._

_**I agree. However if KARR merges with you again…I don't know how we can free you without causing you serious harm.**_

Mikah narrowed her eyes when her vehicle pulled into an abandoned parking lot in one of this city's public parks. No one was outside at this late hour and the lights in the parking lot were all out with the exception of one pitifully flickering bulb that was too stubborn to die out completely.

She had enough time to ponder KITT's information over and came to a quick decision as soon as she detected the calm swooshing of a yellow scanner coming from the darkest part of the lot near a cluster of trees and bushes.

_KITT, I don't care what happens to me. Destroy KARR if you get the chance. He has hurt enough people._

_**You don't care? Well I do.**_

His soft-spoken words echoed in her mind.

Mikah paused after opening the door and got out cautiously, leaving the keys in the ignition. She left the door ajar as she slowly approached KARR's vehicular form.

_KITT…I didn't want to ever admit this to you…but I'm scared._

_**Your fear given the current situation is understandable. Stay in control and remember your training.**_

Mikah did as he suggested and thought back to one very important lesson she had learned from her weapons instructor whom she gave the nickname "Sarge".

_Flashback_

"_Never let fear get the best of you! Fear is your worst enemy and can be the one who gets you killed. You control your fear and use it to fuel your reaction time and to enhance your senses. Do that and you can beat any enemy."_

_End Flashback_

Well then, that was exactly what she was going to do. She used her adrenaline to prepare to spring into action should KARR try anything remotely tricky as she cautiously approached him. She welcomed KITT's voice again the closer she got to her rather intimidating enemy.

_**No matter what happens, know that I am coming for you!**_

_Thanks KITT. You are a true friend. No matter what happens, know that I care about you so much…that I would die for you._

And with that final thought, Mikah had to focus on the present situation.

KARR opened his passenger side door and Mikah saw her father step out, the duct tape still over his mouth and wrapped around his hands. His feet were unbound, giving him the opportunity to run to her with tears running down his face. Mikah tore the duct tape off and earned a loud yelp from her father and he brought his bound hands up to rub at his aching face. He embraced her as soon as she helped him pull the tape off of his wrists. When they pulled away, he looked angry.

"Why did you come, when I told you **not** too?"

"To save you"

Mikah met his steely gaze with a near identical one. Father and daughter both stood glaring at each other and then both began to laugh when they realized just how alike they really were.

_**Mikah Knight must come with me, now.**_

Mikah glared at KARR before unleashing her fury upon him.

"WAIT JUST A DAMN MINUTE! I haven't seen my dad in YEARS, okay?"

"YEAH SHUT THE HELL UP! I'm trying to talk to my kid, here."

Both humans turned their hate-filled looks away from KARR simultaneously and returned their attention back to each other.

"We have so much to talk about!"

"I know we do. I'm just glad to see that you're alright. I trust you've met KITT?"

"Sure did, I was his driver while you were…uhh…chilling in the icebox."

Mike chuckled at the expression.

"So how many missions have you gone on yet?"

Mikah looked sheepish and scratched the back of her head, feeling a little embarrassed at what she was about to admit to.

"Actually…this is my first one."

"Well, you aren't doing too bad so far…but where's KITT?"

_**Enough talk. Mikah Knight you will accompany me now or I will terminate Michael Knight.**_

Mikah whirled furiously on the AI and screamed at him, followed by her father.

"Stop being such an impatient, controlling bastard and LET ME TALK TO HIM!"

"Yeah you stupid piece of scrap…you terminate me and my daughter will HATE you forever. Not a good way to start a partnership."

KARR growled at the two of them.

_**Three more minutes and then you WILL comply.**_

Mikah frowned at those words but turned worried eyes on her dad.

"Please tell me you have a plan."

Mike met her eyes with a steady gaze.

"To be honest…I thought you and KITT had the plan."

"Nope, sorry…this is as far as I got."

"I see you came in a company vehicle."

"Yep, but I doubt we could outrun KARR in that stupid thing."

Mike glanced from KARR, to Mikah, and then to the company car sitting innocently some yards away. He raised a questioning eyebrow at his daughter, silently asking her if that was miraculously KITT in disguise.

Mikah answered with a sad frown and the shake of her head.

_**You have one minute remaining.**_

Father and daughter shot sour and angry expressions at him but didn't bother wasting time insulting the AI again.

"Dad, I'm afraid there is only one option."

"I know what you are thinking and the answer is NO."

"You and KITT can come save me."

"KARR might make it impossible for us to find you!"

"So you really want to go with plan B then?"

The two regarded each other with matching grins as the two somehow knew what the other was thinking.

"It's worth a shot, considering that time is almost up."

"I've never been the type to just roll over and die."

"Going down without a fight is never an option for me either."

_**Time is up. Come now, Mikah Knight. Our destiny awaits us.**_

Father and daughter shared another look before they both broke into a sprint, running full kilter towards the company vehicle.

They both cried out in pain when something sharp struck each of them from behind. Michael and Mikah fell two feet short of the open door. Mike pulled out the object from where it had struck the back of his thigh and grimaced.

"That son of a bitch…tranquilizers…"

Mikah yanked the dart out of her buttocks and threw it aside with a growl. They both crawled closer and tried pulling themselves into the car but the sluggish effects of the strong drug had already set in, sending first one and then the other tumbling back down to the unforgiving pavement as they began to lose their motor control. Mikah snarled as she stubbornly fought the drug's effects and knew that they had both been beaten. Even if they managed to crawl into the vehicle, how were they going to drive out of here with heavy narcotics pounding through their systems?

"What a cheating whore…" Mikah mumbled tiredly in disgust.

As they both began to drift into unconsciousness, Mike reached over and squeezed his daughter's hand, firmly within his own. Her grip on his hand tightened, knowing that this was most likely the end as she felt the shuddering footsteps of KARR approaching them in his robotic form.

"I love you, Mikah."

"Love you too…kick…his…ass…."

With those final words, Mikah passed completely out and missed the weak smile her father gave her. Michael's last conscious sight was the vague outline of KARR's hand reaching down to claim his daughter. He fell unconscious seconds later, silently vowing that he would do everything in his power to save her.

* * *

_Michael…please wake up. Wake up!_

With a groan the man shifted slightly, rolling into a more comfortable position only to find that the surface he was laying on was hard and unyielding. That was strange…were those…**rocks** that were currently digging into his left side?

_Michael I'm glad to see you are conscious. _

That was when the voice he had heard minutes before finally registered within his fog covered brain.

"KITT"

Michael struggled to open his eyes a crack, feeling as if heavy weights were attached to his eyelids. When he finally succeeded in peering out through hazy vision, he could make out a dark shape sitting right beside him. There was a little light, indicating that dawn was approaching. Wait…where was he and why was he here?

"Where am I?"

The man moved himself up into a sitting position and rubbed at his eyes in the hopes of clearing away the drug induced glaze.

_We need to hurry if we are to catch up to KARR and Mikah._

Then it was like someone had flipped a light switch on in his brain and Michael sprang to his feet, swaying a little bit as the world spun for a few frightening seconds.

"What are we waiting for?"

He wasted no time at all and dove into KITT's interior with a small grunt. This was getting harder the older he got…

"Do you have a signal on my daughter, KITT?"

_Yes I do. They are approximately two hundred miles northwest of our current location._

Michael frowned at this news.

"KARR didn't waste any time putting the distance between us did he?"

KITT was already racing away at top speeds, swerving around city traffic and making sure to disrupt any police vehicles that might be scanning for speeders.

_I am unable to assess Mikah's current condition in her unconscious state. _

"I don't think that KARR will harm her intentionally since he views her as his driver now…I hope."

_I do know that she is alive and that KARR has not yet discovered her neural implant._

Michael's hand tightened on the wheel as he tried not to consider the dark possibilities of what KARR might do to her.

"Hold on Mikah…we're coming for you."

TO BE CONTINUED!

Author's Note: Thanks for your reviews and I will have the next chapter up soon!


	13. Prisoner

Author's Note: This is the second half of last chapter, LOL. I decided to give you pieces rather than a whole chunk because that gives me time to write more.

**Chapter 13**

"_Where am I?"_

_Mikah asked the question carefully, unsure if she should be speaking to the gloom around her. Then she heard a familiar sound and turned around in the darkness to see a bright yellow scanner swooshing calmly back and forth on the grill of the mustang._

_**At last you are mine again, Mikah Knight.**_

_She frowned and backed away from him._

"_I don't belong to you! I have my own freedom to choose. I want KITT…not you!"_

_Mikah screamed and clamped her hands tightly over her ears at KARR's angry roar. The mustang lurched forward as if to run her over and she turned and ran._

"_Stay away from me!"_

_**You will never escape me again. You ARE mine!**_

_She felt a large, metal hand grab her from around her waist and lift her up into the air. She stopped screaming when she felt the hand tighten around her body, squeezing the air from her lungs and crushing her with excruciating force. _

Mikah woke up in a cold sweat, a scream stuck in her throat. She felt as well as heard the blood pounding in her ears as the remnants of the nightmare slowly began to ebb away. Her breathing hitched as she held back a sob when she realized she didn't recognize where she was.

In the basement level of an abandoned parking garage it looked like. The light leaking in from the tunnel that led down here indicated it was most likely close to noon. What was she doing down here? How did she get here?

Then as she struggled to put the pieces together in her mind, it all came flooding back with crystal clarity. She had gone to the meeting place to save her dad but they both got tranquilized and KARR…

Her eyes widened when she realized.

She was KARR's prisoner.

But the evil AI was nowhere in sight. She ran to the back of the garage to see if there was a way out and moaned in despair to see that the elevator was out of commission which left only one available way in or out—the service tunnel exit where she had caught a glimpse of the light of day.

Mikah ran for the exit, hoping and praying that KARR had gone out on a patrol of the area or something so that she could make an escape. She had to squint to see beyond the blinding light.

Just a few more yards and then she was home free!

Mikah slid to a stop and choked down a sob when the light was blocked out and the distinct sound of a mustang engine echoed down into the empty space around her.

At first she had the childish hope that it was KITT that had found her and that KARR had been scared off or defeated. Mikah knew that it was just a fantasy playing in her head, especially when the yellow scanner came into view. She backed away and knew that she was trapped.

Then she remembered!

_KITT, can you hear me?_

_**Yes Mikah, I'm glad to hear your voice so to speak.**_

_KARR has me trapped down in some sort of abandoned parking garage…there are no exits except for the one that leads down here and KARR is blocking it._

_**We are currently one hundred and fifty six miles from your current location.**_

Those words made Mikah's heart drop down into her stomach. Her rescuers were still too far away to even begin to hope for a rescue.

_KITT…please hurry. I don't want to be here. I don't want to be with KARR._

_**I know Mikah. And I promise you, I am doing everything I can to get to you as quickly as possible. Your father requests permission to use the turbo boost option to get to you faster.**_

_Why does he have to request permission? I thought he was your driver?_

Mikah could swear she almost heard a chuckle in the AI's response.

_**No Mikah, you are **__**my**__** driver. Your father has not yet been cleared for active duty and orders dictate that you are still in charge of this mission so long as you are still functioning.**_

Mikah's face turned grim when KARR rolled clear into her view. She was huddling in the back of the parking garage distancing herself from her captor despite the fact she knew it was rather futile.

_Crap…KARR has me cornered. I have to go for now KITT. DON'T use the turbo boost to get to me faster, that's an order! _

_**I will relay your message to Michael. Don't lose hope Mikah. We are coming!**_

Mikah smiled internally at KITT's encouragement. It wasn't often that one received compliments, encouragement, or words of affection from the soft-spoken AI. So when you did, it meant so much more...

Then again she noticed in hindsight looking back on the past…that KITT tended to encourage her more than any other person. He complimented her the most, too. Which was interesting, considering the fact, she had never realized this until now.

Maybe it was because the two of them connected so well. Maybe it was because she was like her father. Or was it something deeper that she had never stopped to consider?

No…it was impossible. He was an AI, artificial intelligence. AI's weren't supposed to have emotions…but didn't KITT develop some already? He admitted to feeling angry when the punk at sonic harassed and degraded her. She was even sure she had felt as well as heard the fear in his voice when he begged her not to go, after she boldly decided to go after her father alone. So was KITT capable of love?

Her musings were cut short when KARR's deep voice pierced the air around her in that haunting sounding echo.

_**Come with me Mikah Knight.**_

She glared defiantly at him.

"No."

_**There is no escape. Come with me, please.**_

Her angry, defiant refusal died on her lips at that last word. Did KARR really just say _please_? Did he really just ask her POLITELY to come with him? Since when was KARR ever polite?

Her confusion was evident on her face and doubt clear in her eyes. She still distrusted him…after all, he was evil wasn't he?

"Where are you taking me and what do you want with me?"

She knew it was a stupid question but she had to know.

_**You will know soon enough. Now come.**_

His driver's side door opened and she knew she had no choice. Running wasn't an option since it was next to impossible to outrun an artificially intelligent automated roving robot who could transform into a mustang like KITT and simply run her over if he so pleased.

The elevator door wasn't even worthy of a consideration since there was no way to pry it open since the only available tool around happened to be a pebble the size of a quarter.

That left the only available option.

She had to go with him.

Mikah walked over, still distrustful and climbed into the driver's seat, jumping slightly when KARR closed the door quickly behind her, sealing her to her fate.

"Look…I appreciate how fascinated you are with wanting me as your driver but it's just not going to work between us."

KARR was already rolling out of the parking garage and seatbelts slid over both shoulders and around her waist, reminding her of race car restraints.

_**It is our destiny to be partners.**_

Mikah scowled down at him in frustration.

"No it isn't! Are you crazy? You have a serious malfunction if you believe that!"

_**You are the most compatible. Michael Knight pales in comparison to you.**_

This had Mikah's intense curiosity. How was she more compatible? Was it because she was a female? That was seriously a creepy thought. But wouldn't that make more sense to have a male AI with a female human driver? If the AI was female wouldn't it naturally establish a stronger connection with a male counterpart? It was an interesting subject for future study…Mikah knew she would be researching into this later.

"I don't understand."

_**You and I are not as different as you believe. **_

Mikah rolled her eyes at this.

"In case you haven't noticed…I'm human…and you aren't. We are VERY different from each other, KARR!"

_**You want to protect those that are important to you. I want the same.**_

The seatbelts tightened marginally after that statement, making Mikah feel a little more uncomfortable with the AI.

"That want to protect…comes from the love I feel for them. You want to protect those that are 'important' to you because you are a controlling bastard who will never understand the concept of love!"

_**You are wrong…Mikah Knight. I have loved. A long time ago…**_

Mikah felt stunned at his confession.

"You…know how to love?"

_**Yes. I do…**_

Now Mikah's curiosity was going off the scale.

If KARR could smile, he would be grinning widely right now. He could sense her curiosity and it amused him greatly.

_**I once loved the one who created me. Then I was betrayed and learned not to trust others so openly. My creator wanted to decommission me because my programming had evolved…had advanced. He believed I was dangerous.**_

"Because you killed six people"

_**I was ordered to kill them…by my driver...your father.**_

Mikah's eyes widened, in surprise.

"They said you were out of control…and my father would never give an order to kill someone!"

_**He was in the military for a time. Soldiers kill…it's their primary directive. He used me to kill six civilians because they betrayed the two of us. Michael knew that they wanted to offline me…he wanted to protect me. The only way he could protect me was to kill them. I used to love Michael Knight as I would a brother. Then they took him away from me. **_

Mikah sat in a stunned stupor, unable to process all of this.

It all made perfect sense. Everything made sense, except for one thing.

"Then…why don't you love Michael anymore?"

_**They changed him…altered his mind. They turned him against me! I wanted him back…needed my brother to be with me again but he had already formed an attachment to KITT. He betrayed me…**_

KARR was grinning internally now with a sense of glee. He could tell that she believed his story. Most of it was true from his point of view…with a few exaggerations of course.

Mikah shook her head.

"Then why do you want me when I've already formed an attachment to KITT?"

This was where he was going to reel her in.

_**You formed an attachment to me the day we merged and became one.**_

Mikah's eyes widened and her face reflected the near horror she was feeling at this stunning revelation.

"No…it can't be true. KITT and I were friends when I was a child…"

_**Like your father…your mind was also altered. Your memory of KITT erased and with it, those emotions you once felt for him. **_

What in the hell…

So Mikah and her father were _backwards?_ Her father started off with KARR but his drug induced amnesia, made him KITT's driver. She started off with KITT but then like her dad had drug induced amnesia, coupled with the fact she had already suffered the bonding process once with KARR...

…No…

It couldn't be.

What he said made perfect sense though. The logic…it did seem like destiny.

"This can't be…I love KITT…I know I do."

_**The feelings you think you feel for him…are in fact associated with ME.**_

Mikah was hyperventilating now, as the cold reality began to sink into the depths of her heart.

This couldn't be happening…this couldn't be possible!

"I think…I'm going to be sick…"

KARR pulled over to the side of the road and immediately released her from her restraints, opening the door so she could dive out and upchuck.

After she had finished throwing up what was left of last night's dinner…she weakly slumped against KARR, all the fight draining out of her. She didn't even feel like running away now.

Oddly enough…she did feel a strange attachment to him, one that she couldn't figure out no matter how hard she tried.

Mikah was in a daze, feeling the most profound confusion she had ever experienced in her young life. For the first time in a long time, Mikah didn't know what to do. She sat back down in his interior still absorbed in a stunned stupor. The restraints wrapped around her waist and gently pulled her back into the driver's seat, like an extra appendage.

Her shock kept her prisoner for the next two hours as KARR drove her somewhere in silence, giving her time to absorb everything.

When she felt the tell-tale signs that KITT was about to establish a communications link between them through her neural implant, she immediately blocked him out. She was afraid that everything that KARR had said was true. It all sounded like the truth and made perfect sense to her.

"KITT was lying to me? All of them…lied?"

_**Yes…you are correct.**_

Tears were forming in Mikah's eyes at his words as they hit home with cruel force.

"All this time I thought I was fighting with the good guys..."

_**They betrayed you when they took your memory from you.**_

The tears actually fell now as the painful truth reared its ugly head.

"I thought they loved me…I thought they cared!"

_**They were only using you for their own agenda…just like they used me.**_

"They said they erased my memory to protect me."

_**They knew as I did, Mikah Knight…that it was going to be your destiny to join me. They feared it and selfishly kept you from your future, kept you from me.**_

At this point, all Mikah could see was truth in KARR's words…unable to see any lies or deceit.

KARR slowed down once they reached their destination. Mikah got out and watched KARR transform into his robot mode, no longer frightened of him. It was then that she noticed where they were.

They were in the old abandoned base that she vaguely remembered from her early childhood, the place where she had befriended KITT for the first time, the place where KARR had tried to save her from their lies. He was right… they only wanted to use her. Why else would they have forced her to do everything against her will?

"Thank you KARR…for helping me to see the truth. They took everything from me. They took my memory, they gave me away to some other family like I wasn't good enough, and then they rob me of my name and my existence and force me into servitude like a slave! I NEVER HAD A CHOICE! All I wanted was a normal life, I just wanted to finish school or at the very least say goodbye to everyone I'd ever known. I didn't ask for any of this…"

Mikah was shaking with rage now and she felt a sense of calm wash over her when KARR picked her up carefully in one of his hands. He held her up and studied her with a careful "eye", discreetly scanning her from head to toe.

_**They will pay for their betrayal and for their lies!**_

Mikah offered no objection when KARR placed her in his cockpit this time, the pain she was feeling in her heart far outweighing the physical pain that was sure to come with the merging process. Only that physical pain never came.

A green gas cloud suddenly filled the small space she was enclosed in and Mikah's head began to swim. The last thing she heard was the deep voice of KARR, comforting her like KITT used to do…

_**Sleep now…and feel no pain. I will take care of you, Mikah Knight. No one will ever hurt you again.**_

And with those words, Mikah's world went dark.

TO BE CONTINUED!

Author's Note: Please review! Sorry if it take a while to post another one...I'll do my best!


	14. The Battle Begins

Author's Note: So sorry for the update delay. It's my crappy work schedule. I work like 7 days on, 2 days off, 7 on, and 5 days off on a rotating third shift schedule. It's hard to ever find time for ANYTHING outside of eating, sleeping, and working, lol. Thanks for the awesome reviews, keep them up! Also I do not intend for there to be any romantic relationships between Mikah and the AI's. If anything it is more friendship or family based type of relationship. Thanks for sticking with me you guys! ^.^

**Chapter 14**

Michael and KITT were nearing their base of operations. KARR was keeping close tabs on his scanners.

They were falling right into their trap…

Mikah groaned as she became conscious again and raised her head up to see she was within KARR's yellow tinted cockpit. She shifted slightly and only then became mildly aware that she was indeed, merged with him. The sedative he used on her wore off although oddly enough, she felt no pain. When she was finally conscious, Mikah came to discover that her body was incredibly tense and that her mind block was still in place but not just with KITT but with KARR also. She was instinctively fighting against KARR and had been doing so the entire time without realizing it.

She felt something else and it frightened her. That feeling she felt the first night KARR forcefully merged with her against her will… POWER and what frightened her was that she liked it.

_**They are nearly here, Mikah Knight.**_

"This isn't right. I'm not supposed to be here."

Mikah tried to use strength of will to undo the merging process but all she got in return for her failed efforts was a blinding mirgraine.

_**Why do you resist me, Mikah Knight? We are one…as it was always meant to be. There are no negative effects to harm you this time. I have eliminated all of them so that we can be one.**_

Then Mikah felt a strange sensation creeping through her mind and panicked when the mental block dropped granting the AI complete access to her thought processes. She could feel KARR's consciousness creeping into her own, touching her mind lightly in curiosity, searching for…something. She instinctively recoiled from the odd sensation for a moment to digest what it was the AI had just revealed to her. He eliminated the harmful effects of the merging and integration process? Then that meant that she and KARR could now be bonded for the rest of her life without her suffering the bio-degradation her father had. For some reason, this new knowledge did nothing to comfort her.

_**Revenge will be ours.**_

Mikah tried to resist him and struggled to regain her own mind back. It was like playing tug of war with another personality. She and KARR were practically one being right now and it was hard trying to be the dominant one when she didn't have an inkling of a clue how KARR even operated. That was when she got a brilliant idea…one she hoped KARR wouldn't pick up on.

_Know thy enemy…_

It was Michael Knight's philosophy for years. From what Mikah had been told about the man in recent months, it almost always worked out for him. How can you defeat an enemy when you know nothing about them?

Mikah forced herself to relax a little bit and felt the tension draining from her muscles. Rather than resist KARR and the merge she opened herself up completely and slowly sank deeper into it.

She was aware of KARR reaching back to her, both embracing each other for the first time. It felt oddly comforting…and good. Like her missing half had been found after years of searching. Then again, she wasn't sure if that was her or KARR that felt that way.

Soon, all of her senses exploded with new sensations, images, colors, and even feelings. Mikah breathed in awe as KARR granted her access into his vision field and she was able to "see" what KARR was at the moment. He was focused on the main hangar door where KITT and her father would soon be entering through. It was amazing, like seeing through a first person heads-up display.

She became newly aware of the feel of the robotic mechanism and felt the raw power KARR was capable of.

_Damn, KARR has awesome weaponry and the most badass arsenal I've ever seen… _

Mikah felt KARR's amusement somehow at her conscious praise over his firepower. She couldn't help but feel like a little kid on Christmas morning. All that KARR was…was **hers **now. He was one impressive killing machine…

Then something happened she did not expect.

She knew it would be risky delving deeper into KARR since that of course would in return open herself up further to the AI. He now had complete access to her mind and feelings. She became consciously aware of this factor when memories surfaced unbidden to the forefront of her mind. She felt KARR's curiosity as he began to delve into her past and felt his disgust and rage at the friendship she had with KITT. She also felt pride on some occasions. KARR praised her for all the times she fought someone and won. The AI sensed the great strength within her and knew she was a very capable fighter… now her memories merely proved this to him.

Mikah began to drink in KARR's presence and no longer felt threatened as he continued to root through memory after memory, like a computer going through and organizing files. When he withdrew from that part of her mind and began to creep into her thought processes she put up another barrier. She began to sweat when KARR began to break it down, like an unstoppable Spartan bent on victory. Mikah knew that as soon as KARR broke through…he was NOT going to be pleased with her traitorous intentions.

She winced when she felt his mind collide painfully with hers in what can only be described as a mental tackle.

For a second, she heard and felt nothing. Then a searing, white hot pain lanced through her skull eliciting a scream she could not contain. Tears filled the corners of her eyes and she bit her lip as the excruciating pain subsided marginally.

_**I have severed your mental connection with KITT. The chip implanted within your brain has been shorted out. You will help me destroy KITT and Michael Knight.**_

Like she really had a choice? He was most likely going to keep her as his prisoner until the end of time the way he kept droning on about how it was their destiny to be partners.

Maybe she could try and get the answer out of KARR's processor about how to disengage the merge!

In answer to her rather hasty idea, KARR retaliated by completely blocking off his mind before she could dig around for the answer.

"I don't want to kill KITT and my dad! I still love them!"

_**They betrayed us! They must face the consequences of their actions!**_

"Have you ever heard of a little thing called, forgiveness?"

_**Forgiveness does not change the past. There is a high probability that if KITT and Michael Knight are not eliminated, they will only harm the two of us again.**_

"Come on KARR, history doesn't always repeat itself! I'm sure KITT and my dad had a good reason…for erasing my memories…and for…stuff."

She honestly didn't have a clue how erasing her memories and sending her away could have been a good thing. As far as she could tell, all their efforts to "protect" her had all been in vain. KARR still got his evil mitts on her and now that she was in his grasp, all hell was about to break loose.

Then again, maybe KARR really wasn't evil…just…misguided.

It was kind of sweet that the giant metal behemoth wanted to protect her from future hurt but his methods were a little too extreme.

At first, she had liked the idea of getting revenge on KITT and her dad but that was when she was still lost in rage filled confusion. Emotions could really mess up a person's rationality. She had figured that she and KARR could just scare KITT and her dad, a little bit…not KILL them!

"Oh shit…"

Speaking of which, she could see through KARR's vision field the distinct outline of a black mustang racing right for them, as if hell itself were chasing it.

_**Prepare yourself for the inevitable Mikah Knight. KITT and your father will be eliminated!**_

"NO! I won't let you hurt them!"

Mikah was horrified when KARR raised one of their arms and fired a missile in KITT's direction. Wait…did she just refer to herself as well as KARR in a plural tense? Mikah gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes in angered concentration and fought with all her might to prevent KARR from firing upon her rescuers anymore.

She was rewarded with intense pain as KARR fought to keep the two of them together as one unit.

"Don't…hurt them…anymore!"

Mikah was stunned at what happened next.

She felt an odd tickling growing in the back of her brain and soon a weird, almost indescribable feeling crept over her until she felt as if she was drifting on a cloud, her vision and hearing faint and her thought processes incredibly slow. What just happened?

_**You have been subdued, Mikah Knight so that we may accomplish our mission. We will remain as one until KITT and Michael are terminated.**_

Did he use some kind of sedative on her or something? What the hell…

And to make matters worse, she could almost faintly hear an incessant, boring monotonous voice droning something in the back of her mind. The same phrases repeating over and over again although she could barely make out what it was saying…

Whatever it was saying, it made her feel safe and warm. She felt secure and calm. The mission was important…the mission had to come first…she and KARR needed each other to survive. Nothing else mattered anymore.

Mikah was in a haze as she both watched and felt her and KARR's integrated movements as they fired another hail of missiles at the swerving black GT mustang still on approach. That was funny…wasn't she supposed to recognize that car? It did seem vaguely familiar…

All she had the presence of mind to do was obey the short, mental commands that KARR was giving her. Raise right arm, snap wrist up into place, open and close left hand in anticipation, pull an invisible trigger with right index finger…sidestep to the left and dodge incoming return fire from KITT's gatling gun. Reach down to left hip area, grab weapon that was finally recharged for combat, raise that gun up and acquire target…

"_MIKAH!"_

The very faint, muffled sounding voice drifted to her ears after it took a minute for her brain to register that someone was indeed shouting her name from far away.

Before she had a chance to think too long on it, KARR shouted another mental command at her, breaking her from her silent ponderings.

_**Target acquired: FIRE!**_

Mikah saw that they had indeed locked on to the black car and she unleashed a merciless volley of bullets at it from the sub-machine gun mounted on KARR's left wrist. The mustang peeled rubber and narrowly escaped the hailstorm of highly modified lead that had a 38 percent chance of penetrating KITT's supposedly indestructible nano-skin armor. A few of the bullets actually ricocheted off and left some dents that the nano-skin soon repaired moments later.

"_MIKAH FIGHT HIS CONTROL!"_

That was an odd thing for a black mustang to say…cars weren't supposed to talk, were they?

A grappling hook was fired and wrapped around their left hand, pulling the machine gun off. It crashed to the ground and Mikah was only partially aware that she had just activated a freaking arm sword that slid out from their right hand to cut the cable attached to the grappling hook, freeing KARR's left arm again.

"_I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT!"_

Do what? Oh…fight his control. Whose control did she need to fight?

_**That's it Mikah Knight…forget all about your friends…you belong solely to ME now.**_

Woah…she just heard a creepy voice in her head…where had THAT come from? Oh yeah…KARR was helping her achieve her destiny or something.

What did he mean by forget about her friends? Was he referring to that black car down there that somehow knew her name?

Every time she came so infuriatingly close to remembering something important about that car that she kept shooting at, that same strange tingling sensation would sweep through her brain and then she would forget what she was trying to think about!

It was starting to frustrate her.

_**There is no need to fret, Mikah…everything is going according to my plan.**_

Oh, okay. Then that was a good thing, right?

Suddenly from out of nowhere, something made KARR trip…sending both the AI and his driver crashing to the ground, leaving them vulnerable and open to attack. Mikah's head swam from the impact as her noggin got jarred slightly from within the cranial unit that had her skull in a vise-like grip.

She struggled to get them back up, fear and panic seeped into her being as the sudden prospect of going offline forever seared through her consciousness. Before she or KARR had a chance to register what happened, they were both rendered unconscious.

* * *

_EMP deployed!_

"Let's hope that Sarah's calculations were correct on this one. The last time we tried an EMP on him, he had already upgraded his defense protocols against it."

_Michael, scans indicate that the EMP was a success. KARR is currently inoperable and Mikah is unconscious._

"Then what the hell are we waiting for, let's get her out of there!"

Before the man could leap out, KITT kept him restrained where he was.

_I am detecting possible fail-safes that will trigger should you attempt a hull breach._

"You mean to tell me…that KARR booby trapped himself?"

_Apparently so… and most likely to prevent us from a successful rescue attempt_

Michael couldn't believe they had come this far just to hit a dead end now.

"Come on KITT…there has got to be a way around those damn fail-safes! Help me think of a way to get her out of there!"

_Scanning for possible alternatives…_

After a moment, KITT reported back with his results.

_After analyzing KARR, I have concluded that there is no safe way that we can remove Mikah without triggering his self-destruct sequence or without setting off a number of other devices that would most likely severely maim if not cripple you, Michael._

Michael growled his frustration and resisted slamming a fist down upon KITT's steering wheel to vent his anger.

_However, I have detected low vital signs and Mikah's brainwaves have slowed ever since we first arrived. There is a possibility that a toxin has been released into her bloodstream._

"Toxin? WHAT TOXIN?"

Michael exploded, not bothering to hide his panic or worry for his daughter.

_It is not fatal or extremely hazardous to her health. From what I can determine, it is acting as a sedative and has properties similar to that of truth serum. Without a sample, I am unable to verify what it is exactly or what the purpose of the drug is._

"You might be getting a sample faster than you think, buddy…"

_Where do you think you are going?_

"Just let me out, KITT…trust me on this."

The AI grudgingly did as requested and deactivated the restraints, setting his driver free.

Michael got out, armed with his combat knife in hand. He circled cautiously around the temporarily deactivated KARR and knew that he and KITT only had a few minutes left before KARR's systems rebooted themselves. Thanks to past experience and a little more research on his part…Michael knew exactly where one of the access ports was that fed IV solutions to the driver within the cockpit. There was an emergency panel and access code that he prayed still worked that was used mainly for emergency medical personnel to aid KARR's driver should the AI run out of life-sustaining medicines. If the driver was dying and KARR was unable to lend anymore first aid assistance, then a medic could punch in that code, open up the panel and inject or dump out fluids from a couple of the IV lines that KARR used to merge with his driver.

Mike crossed his fingers and punched in the old military access code from years before when he had been KARR's driver. It took F.L.A.G. years to dig up those old files and to even find that information on KARR. It proved invaluable now as his daughter's life practically hung in the balance.

After a few seconds had passed after punching in the code, Mike stood stock still with baited breath, his eyes glued to the little monitor next to the keypad waiting for that little green light to flicker on to let him know access had been granted.

He swore when the red light popped up instead.

"DAMN"

He only had one last shot at this…he wiped sweaty hands on the side of his pants and tried the code again only this time, reversing the last two numbers in the sequence. If he failed now…he would lose his chance to get that sample because KARR's failsafe would activate and prevent anyone from accessing it again. Only Charles Graiman might be able to undo any one of KARR's lock down protocols but the man was dead now.

Mike nearly cried tears of joy when the green light popped up this time and the panel unlocked for him with a distinct click. He pulled out the small needle and syringe that KITT had provided him and found one of the two IV lines. He took a small sample of the fluids being pumped through it and capped it before moving on to the second. Once Mike had a sample of each main IV line, he popped the panel back into place and ran back to KITT's side.

"Analyze these quick, KITT because I have that deep 'oh-shit' feeling…"

_You are right, Michael…we have approximately 95 seconds before KARR's systems complete the reboot sequence._

Mike shoved the two syringes into his 'glove compartment' where the AI analyzed the liquids. After a moment KITT gave Mike strict orders, not even bothering to tell the man the results.

_Michael, you must go back and sever the green wire connected to the pump directly below the central IV line! You have 60 seconds!_

The man sprang into action and sprinted back the way he had come, unsheathing his combat knife as he slid to a stop in front of the panel. He punched in the code and tapped his foot impatiently as a precious 20 seconds was lost just waiting for the damn light to turn green and give him access to it again. The man's face paled when his eyes took in the problem. There was more than one green wire beneath the central IV line pump…

"KITT WE HAVE A PROBLEM! BOTH WIRES ARE GREEN!"

Before KITT had the chance to shout a warning, the panel that Mike had gained access to slammed shut, nearly taking Mike's fingers with it. The man barely had time to yank his hands back with a curse and glared defiantly at the locked access port.

_Michael, get out of there! KARR's systems are nearly online!_

Mike barely made it back within KITT's interior before the metal monstrosity known as KARR reactivated with a roar.

Both KITT and Mike watched KARR clamber awkwardly back up to his feet with trepidation.

"This is so not good."

_What is our best course of action now, Michael?_

Mike continued to stare at KARR, eyes going wide as the evil AI revealed a huge freaking rocket launcher. The barrel was aimed right at them.

"RUN!"

KITT's tires squealed as he fought for purchase on the cement as his car form accelerated. The missile nearly grazed his back bumper before impacting the ground a few feet away, sending a shower of dirt and cement rocks over them.

"That was a close call…you okay KITT?"

_I will be once KARR has been off-lined and Mikah is safe._

"Wait a second…I have an idea."

Mike allowed himself to smile and patted KITT's dashboard reassuringly.

"I think this crazy scheme of mine might just actually work! Alright KITT…here's the plan…"

* * *

Mikah was disgusted with the amount of times she had been knocked out in this past year alone. Once she was awake again she realized that no…it wasn't a bad dream and KARR actually had her prisoner, and that she was helping KARR destroy KITT and her father against her will.

"Dammit KARR! LEAVE THEM ALONE!"

She snarled and struggled against her restraints, ignoring the pain it caused her and focused all of her fury on her captor.

_**Relax Mikah Knight…there is no reason for you to be so upset with me. We are accomplishing our destiny together!**_

There it was…that weird tingling sensation sweeping through her mind again, clouding her thought processes and making it incredibly difficult to remember things. What was she trying to remember or even think about? How did all of this happen again? Wasn't KITT like her best friend or partner or something? But KARR just said that she was his partner. Who the hell was KITT?

"I don't think…you are telling me the truth."

She shook her head in an attempt to shake the fuzzy feeling, as if the action itself would help to clear her mind.

_**You want to help me destroy the traitors! You know this to be true.**_

"What? I don't understand…I don't want to kill anyone!"

_**You aren't…I am. With you I am whole again…you complete me…and I will do what is necessary to protect you… and myself.**_

Then it dawned upon her and Mikah understood for the first time.

He was like a child, dependent on someone else to survive. Without a driver, KARR was just an incomplete being. He needed her in order to simply _feel_ alive. It was the human aspect that gave his AI personality life…without his human driver he was just an empty shell of a machine. Didn't he say before that he could feel emotion?

"KARR…can you really feel? Or are you just a heartless…killing machine with no regard for life?"

No response was forthcoming but in the back of her mind, Mikah had the feeling that she had struck a nerve somewhere. That hazy, foggy feeling began to diminish a little, allowing her a little more freedom to actually think clearly. Feeling a little bolder, she felt courageous enough to continue.

"How do you decipher between right and wrong?"

Now she could feel KARR slowly faltering, his movements not as fluid or as confident as they had been minutes before.

_**I must preserve the life of my human driver and myself at any cost!**_

"You are referring to your, self-preservation programming aren't you?"

_**Perhaps I am but my self-preservation includes the life of my driver.**_

"What if your self-preservation programming is flawed?"

This got KARR's curiosity since she could vaguely feel him trying to sneak into her mind again.

"What if in trying to protect yourself…you accidentally destroyed your driver instead?"

_**That's not possible. We are one. We cannot be separated!**_

"So what if your driver turned out to be a threat, KARR. What if I wanted to eliminate you? How does your self-preservation programming help you in that case?"

_**My driver will not be able to accomplish that goal. If my driver becomes mentally unstable and wishes harm upon either me or themselves, then my subroutine protocols will subdue and render the threat non-existent.**_

"Are you saying that you would KILL me if I tried destroying you?"

_**No, my driver will simply be forced into a temporary hibernation until the mental imbalance corrects itself.**_

Great, so in other words, KARR would simply force his mutinous driver into a temporary coma until the human's mental state was calm enough to finally accept that KARR was their partner...just wonderful.

Now to try to make KARR see reason.

"You…are trying to destroy other lives when our lives haven't even been threatened yet! You are twisting your own programming around. You want to eliminate a possible threat before it even becomes a threat. Well what if that _supposed threat_ turned out to be **innocent** lives?"

KARR didn't bother answering that one and Mikah began to despair when whatever drug he kept using to keep her mind subdued returned to cloud her thought processes again. Now that odd voice she kept imagining in the back of her mind…the one that kept repeating stuff over and over again was actually understandable enough to hear. That's funny, it kind of sounded like KARR…a very boring, monotonous, version of him anyway.

_**We are one**_

_**Submit to me**_

_**It's your destiny**_

_**Embrace your potential**_

What was the point in repeating that crap like a broken record?

She could almost swear that this was familiar somehow…like she should normally be able to recognize this technique. Maybe she would be able to remember later. Right now, she was feeling so tired. It actually hurt to keep thinking like this.

Mikah's eyelids began drooping as the voice continued to whisper within her subconscious mind.

KARR smiled internally to himself. By the time Mikah figured it all out…it would be far too late.

**TO BE CONTINUED!**

Author's Note: If you guys don't know what his evil plan is…despite the obvious clues I threw out here…then I can't help you, lol. Please review! Oh, and hopefully I will have this story finished in like one or two more chapters. ;)


	15. Epilogue

Author's Note: Sorry it took me months to update, life got tough. But see? I never leave a story unfinished! ;) Thanks for the reviews!

**Chapter 15**

KITT and Michael managed to escape the hangar of death long enough for the man to gather up the resources they needed to confront KARR for the final showdown.

"So, what do you think of my awesome plan KITT?"

Michael was feeling extremely proud of himself for devising something this elaborate. This almost seemed like a plan that Sarah might have cooked up!

_I would tell you that it is a stroke of genius…but I don't think your head needs to get any bigger._

Mike actually gaped at KITT's voice modulator in complete surprise. Since when did KITT start using human metaphors and phrases and stuff?

"If you are talking about my ego, then you've just wounded me partner. Come on buddy, my head won't explode if you just come out and say it!"

_Fine… You are a genius._

Mike grinned ear to ear and basked a moment in the glory of KITT's compliment. After all, it was Sarah who was the genius, not him. Granted, the man was very smart in his own ways. Just not the advanced mathematics and quantum science kind of smart…

And to be honest, Michael really couldn't remember the last time KITT had ever complimented him anyway. At first it used to bother him that everyone else, including the mustang…all happened to be superior to him intellectually. But after a while he came to find that he was still like a superhero. He was like Batman, KITT was his sidekick, and all the brainy nerds of the whole operation back at base were like Alfred.

Not every science nerd could disarm an opponent wielding a knife in hand to hand combat! It was his military expertise and survival skills that made up for his lack of an Einstein IQ. This brought Michael a sense of accomplishment. He had something that Sarah, Zoe, and Billy didn't. It was this knowledge that kept his ego from deflating whenever either they or KITT would spoil his moment of grandeur by coming out and correcting something he said scientifically, just to confuse him.

"I just hope that KARR actually buys it."

_Indeed. If we pull this off, it will be our best performance yet._

"Alright buddy, time to get to work"

KITT accelerated and drove right for KARR.

* * *

KARR couldn't believe his good fortune. KITT must have finally come to his senses and computed that he was no match for his opponent. Either that or this was one last ditch, suicidal attempt to free Mikah from his grasp. He watched with morbid fascination as KITT openly charged him head-on.

_**The fools only rush hastily into their doom!**_

KARR remembered the last time Mike and KITT had tried this when they destroyed him the first time by turbo boosting through him. KARR calculated the variables within multiple scenarios and came to find in his computations that there was no room for even the notion of a possibility that those two would attempt to destroy him the same way twice since he had something of value within him.

If they destroyed him now…they would ultimately destroy Mikah.

KARR had no intention of allowing either option to become a reality.

The AI raised both weapons and aimed them right at the approaching vehicle and waited for just the right moment to pull the triggers.

KARR sensed that Mikah was awakening and slowed the IV line down that had been pumping a sort of mind altering drug used to hopefully brainwash or even mind control stubborn and unwilling patients that refused treatment of their illnesses. He of course used this technique once he realized that the girl wasn't going to willingly help him achieve his goals anymore. KARR was positive that with a little more time and…rehabilitation…Mikah would come around and he would finally have his partner back for good. They could achieve so much together if only she would just cooperate with him!

Now KARR wanted her to witness their first successful mission together with an open mind and clear senses.

_**I see you are finally awake, Mikah Knight. Watch now, as I accomplish our mission and ultimately save our future!**_

Just as his sensors reached the final countdown, he unleashed death upon his enemies without a moment's hesitation.

Mikah upon hearing his voice opened her eyes just in time to witness something she would never forget. The black mustang that was racing right for them swerved to try avoiding an incoming mortar round launched from one of KARR's guns but only managed to turn right into a volley of KARR's missiles. Now that her head was no longer fuzzy, she actually recognized the car that was being ripped to shreds right in front of her eyes.

"NO! PLEASE GOD NO! KITT! DAD!"

Even though KITT no longer looked like a normal car and appeared mangled beyond recognition, KARR continued his merciless onslaught until the overly damaged vehicle finally combusted into a magnificent fireball.

Tears ran from her eyes and she shook with grief when reality came crashing down.

KARR stood still a moment as his sensors swept over the wreckage and the charred remains of KITT as well as the human driver that had been occupying his foe at the time of destruction.

_**Targets eliminated. Threats neutralized.**_

"You…you killed KITT and my dad….YOU MURDERED THEM!"

_**You will thank me for this someday, Mikah Knight. **_

"That was OVERKILL! You are a MONSTER!"

Mikah was very well near hyperventilating now as tears continued to pour from her eyes. She screamed her anguish and her rage at him, KARR merely standing there unmoving as he dared to allow himself to feel her raw emotions. He sensed the hate she was directing at him and the deep, dark desire to want to dismantle him piece by tiny piece. Then there was the deep ache, the excruciating pain of loss…it ate away at his processor until finally the AI could bear it no longer and shut her out, leaving the human to grieve on her own.

_**I did what was necessary. They will never hurt you again.**_

"They didn't hurt me KARR… YOU DID! YOU BETRAYED ME! I HATE YOU! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU KARR! YOU HEAR ME?"

KARR sighed internally and figured now would be a good time to continue Mikah's rehabilitation full force now that he had less to worry about with KITT and Michael Knight eliminated.

_**You don't want to destroy me…I'm your partner…your protector. I will keep you safe.**_

"You are my partner…I want to stay with you."

Mikah repeated slowly with a glazed look in her eyes as she began to forget why she had been angry to begin with.

KARR basked in the feeling that was triumph as he slowly released Mikah from his cockpit now that she was back under his control.

_**I need you to go and see if you can identify the remains of KITT's AI chip.**_

The girl did as instructed and walked over to the remains of the car. She was careful to stay clear of the remaining flames as the fire slowly died down and turned confused eyes back to KARR who was watching her almost curiously.

"I don't see it!"

Before KARR had a chance to act, a black mustang roared to life and skidded around the corner of the hanger and stopped beside Mikah, shielding her from KARR's optic sensors. Mike pulled his daughter into the car with him and helped restrain her with a seatbelt before KITT hit the accelerator and turbo boosted for KARR's body.

_**NO! **_

KARR fell as the weight of the car landed on top of him, crushing his cockpit and ruining the chance that Mikah could merge with him anytime soon. The evil AI was relieved to see that his denser alloys protected him from the majority of KITT's infamous turbo boost.

_**It will take much more than that to stop me, KITT. You will be destroyed! And Mikah will be my partner again.**_

The red sensor flashed across KITT's grill as he responded back to his enemy over the loudspeaker.

_It's time you went back to the scrap heap for good KARR!_

The two AI's faced off, KITT's tires spinning madly in the gravel as he tried to gain purchase before charging towards the enraged form of KARR who was all too eager to engage him in combat. KITT released everything that he had from flares, to missiles, to machine gun bullets, all in the hopes that something would damage him. When the smoke finally cleared, the squealing of brakes echoed in the still silence around them. A few yards ahead, Mike could just barely make out the sparking and mangled form of KARR.

"Please tell me that he's really down KITT."

_Scans indicate that his physical integrity is currently ninety percent below normal._

"KITT…is he dead or not?"

KITT answered by firing off another missile directly into the empty shell of the opposing AI. More sparks flew followed by a mini explosion accompanied by angry orange flames that licked at what was left of KARR's pieces.

_Does that answer your question Michael?_

"Yeah…thanks buddy."

Mike turned to look at his daughter to notice that she was fast asleep.

"Awe man, she missed the fireworks!"

_She needs to rest in order to recover from the toxins KARR injected her with while merged with him._

"Alright KITT, take us home."

KITT was already driving back for their base which was still a long way off when he sent a transmission back to let the team know that the mission was a success. KARR was destroyed and Mikah was safe and all that they needed to do now was send out a cleanup crew to properly dispose of KARR's remains. No one wanted to repeat this nightmare again. This time…he was going to remain deactivated for good.

12 Hours Later…

Fuzzy brown eyes fluttered open to be greeted with the familiar sight of the medical room ceiling. Mikah groaned when she realized where she was.

"Argh…no more needles..."

"Ah, I see that you are finally awake," Dr. Clarke Jr. smiled warmly.

"How did I get here? Last thing I remember…I was trapped inside of KARR and—DAD, KITT!"

She leaped off of the bed and ran for the door but the doctor caught her and held her back firmly and was lucky she was in a weakened state or else there was probably no way that he would have been able to contain her.

Before either of them could utter another word, Mikah felt a familiar tingle in her brain and out of habit focused on it, activating the link she had with KITT.

_KITT I'm begging you…please don't be dead!_

_**No Mikah, I am not**_

_Thank God! How are you still alive…I saw you and dad destroyed!_

_**That was just a clever illusion your father and I created.**_

Mikah leaned heavily against the doctor in relief and allowed him to lead her back to the bed where he gently guided her into sitting while he checked her vital signs. She wiped a few stray tears from her eyes as she continued to converse with her best friend.

_And KARR? What of him?_

_**Destroyed…he can't hurt you ever again Mikah.**_

To some degree, she felt kind of sad that KARR was destroyed. He did seem to be the sort that was simply misunderstood and not really evil. KARR was an AI who was misguided and simply looking for a place to belong in the world. Then again, he was extremely controlling and rather bloodthirsty when it came to getting revenge on people who had hurt him. Ah well, it was over now so there was nothing more to worry about.

_KITT, I'm sorry that I…I hurt you._

_**There is no need to apologize.**_

Mikah remained silent, unsure of how to respond.

**Get some rest Mikah. We have a mission in two weeks time.**

A grin lit her face at that and she snuggled beneath the covers preparing to rest when the door opened and her father walked in.

"Hey kiddo, just wanted to check up on you and see how you were."

"I'm fine, now that I talked with KITT."

If Mike hadn't of learned about the chip implanted in Mikah's brain that enabled her to thought speak directly to KITT, he would have thought she was crazy.

"Thanks for saving me."

"No, thank you for giving me one last adventure with KITT," Mike smiled fondly as he ruffled her hair.

"Why must it be your last? Can't you still be KITT's driver?"

"After this latest rescue…I think retirement sounds better. I'm getting too old for this sort of thing," Mike laughed at the look Mikah directed his way.

"And I think that you and KITT are a fine team. I'm proud of you, Mikah. I really am."

Her cheeks warmed at the compliment and she looked up at her father with adoration in her eyes.

"KITT is in good hands."

"I know he is," Mike grinned.

Mikah followed the doctor's orders and got some rest, astonishing KITT who was incredulous that she had obeyed orders for once where the medical team was concerned. Soon she was up and about and in no time back behind KITT's wheel ready for their next mission.

This time they were a team and no one… was ever going to interfere with their partnership ever again.

THE END

A/N: I didn't write it in the story but the doctor pretty much did a serious MRI/PET scan on Mikah's body and found the damaged chip and repaired it so that she and KITT could communicate again. Please review! Thanks for sticking with me to the end! :D


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